Beauty and the Bowser
by Demi10Pinoy
Summary: After many failed attempts, Bowser has given up trying to capture Peach. However, when one the Koopa Kids kidnaps her anyway, things begin to change; love can be found in the weirdest of places.
1. The Prince Who Failed

**Author's Note:**

 **I've been a lurker here for a while now. I finally decided to submit a story after the idea came to me in French class. I wrote down some notes for it, but I couldn't stop thinking about all day.**

 **Initially, the idea came to me after I watched Beauty and the Beast at the movie theater on opening night. Then, I saw a post on Reddit from a few months ago that theorized that the Mario Games are Beauty and the Beast and that Mario is Gaston. After that, the gears started spinning in my head.**

 **I wanted to make this story very similar to Beauty and the Beast, more so the new movie and the musical than the animated film.**

 **Please review if you can. I'm want some criticism.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Mario or any characters in that game series... Or the Beauty and the Beast story**

* * *

A _long time ago, in a far away land known as the Koopa Kingdom, a prince lived in a shining castle. Although the prince had everything that his heart desired—looks, smarts, hair, money—he always wanted more. The prince was a cruel, selfish and unkind ruler to all those who lived in the land._

 _But, everything would change one winter's night: an old woman, seeking shelter from the bitter cold, offered the prince a single Fire Flower in exchange for a warm bed. The prince was deeply disturbed by the old woman's appearance and turned her away. In response, she warned him not to be judgement on appearance alone, for true beauty comes from within._ _The prince laughed and turned her away again. After yet another warning from the old woman, the prince remained unmoved and told the old woman to leave._

 _Suddenly, the old woman burst into a bright light and, within the light, a beautiful enchantress molded from the old woman's skin. The prince begged for forgiveness, but it was too late; it was clear to the enchantress that there was no love inside the prince._

 _The prince was turned into a hideous beast; the enchantress had cursed him to be like the peasants he ruled so cruelly over. His beautiful Kingdom, once a vibrant land, became a barren, volcanic wasteland. The Koopas in all nearby villages and lands turned into Dry Bones and the Goombas into inanimate objects. As for the residents of the castle, they were cursed to slowly turn into objects and Dry Bones themselves._

 _The prince soon learned that the Fire Flower offered to him was enchanted; if he could learn to love another, and they could learn to love him, before the flames burned out, he would once again become the handsome prince he once was. If not, he was doomed to remain a beast for all time._

 _More years past and the prince became desperate. And, with each failed attempt, the prince became more and more depressed and hopeless… For who could ever learn to love a beast?_

* * *

Mario closed the book and looked up. He was sitting down in a one of Bowser's clown cars he and Luigi had taken after saving Princess Peach… again. The Mario Brothers began their adventure to save Peach just as winter set in. Now, it was the beginning of spring; the skies were no longer full of clouds, trees were blooming again, and the sun made everybody warmer, both physically and emotionally. When the red plumber looked up, he saw the princess, in her pink dress, standing next to Luigi, both admiring the view of the beautifully green Donut Plains below them.

"Peach, how could you read stuff like this?" Mario asked, holding the book up, "It was boring and inaccurate; the Koopa Kingdom, if you could even call it a kingdom, was never ruled by somebody who isn't a fat, angry Koopa."

"It's a fable, Mario," Luigi sighed, bringing his palm to his face in disappointment, "It's a story written for the sole purpose of conveying a moral."

Mario put the book down and stood up. He seemed to be offended by his brother's tone of voice, "Well, what's the moral supposed to be then?"

"I'll let you figure it out on your own, bro," Luigi shook his head, turning back to face the sky.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Suddenly, Peach stepped between the two plumbers. She held both at arm's length and said, "Both of you need to relax! It's been a long adventure. Clearly, you need some time away from each other."

"Yeah, you're right, Princess," Mario nodded, sitting back down next to the book, "We've got good chemistry, me and Luigi, but we get on each other's nerves sometimes."

" _Sometimes_ ," Luigi said, quoting the word with his fingers, "It was worse before I started dating Daisy…"

* * *

In the Koopa Kingdom, a Koopa with a red shell along with a Goomba walked up the stones steps of Bowser's castle. Because the Mario Brothers were just there, the castle littered with injured Koopas and Goombas. It seemed that, with each passing Mario Bros adventure, the Koopas were becoming more and more like Dry Bones and the Goombas becoming slower. The Goomba and the Koopa passed a Hammer Bro carrying a cracked green shell and a flat Goomba. After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at their destination; Bowser's chamber.

The Koopa pushed the door open and saw Bowser staring outside on his balcony. They crossed the largely empty room, where a Fire Flower rested in a glass container on a pedestal. As the flower seemed to levitate in the air, a flame descended from the flower and hit the pedestal, burning a circle on it. As the Goomba peaked over and saw that there were several burns on the pedestal, the Koopa approached Bowser, who did not go to greet them upon entry.

The Koopa noticed a sorrowful look on Bowser's face and hesitated. However, before he could say anything, Bowser asked, "What is it, Red?"

"Sir, we have to try again… You know we have to; we don't have a choice," the Koopa, Red, said, "We're running out of time."

"Red's right," the Goomba, Goombs, said, "The flame is going out; I don't know how much time we have before it completely—"

"There's no point," Bowser sighed, "I've tried and failed so many times; I'm doomed to be like this forever…"

"Sir, please," Red begged, getting closer to Bowser. Bowser looked down at Red's small body with a look of sadness. Red took off his right glove to reveal a boney hand; though there was no blood, the skin faded and it was clear that Red's transformation into a Dry Bones had begun, "If you're not going to try again for you, then try again for us; when the Fire Flower's flame burns out, we're all doomed like you are."

"I can't keep putting myself through this," Bowser replied, almost apologetically, "I've accepted my fate; I suggest you accept yours."

With that, Red and Goombs left their king alone. Loneliness was a familiar feeling to Bowser, but he could not help but feel more anxious; he knew that the flower would go out soon and that his entire kingdom was doomed just like he was. Unknown to Bowser, one of the Koopa Kids, Lemmy, was eavesdropping on the conversation. Without another thought, Lemmy ran down to the cellar of the castle and saw one of Bowser's clown cars. By the time the sun had set, he was out of the castle, on his way to the Mushroom Kingdom.

* * *

"Today's the big day," Mario kept thinking to himself, "I have to do it... The timing could not be more perfect."

As Mario strutted down the streets in front of Mushroom City, he held his hands behind his back with the biggest smile on his face. It was the day after he and Luigi brought Peach back to the castle. And, usually the day after an adventure, Peach has a celebration with the two brothers, Daisy, Toadsworth and various toads throughout the kingdom. Mario arrived outside of a moderately big building with an "L" on a sign that hung above the door. It was Luigi's library. Just as Mario was about to go inside the building, Luigi and Peach left, both laughing at something. Closely behind them was Daisy, in her usual orange dress. As they got out of the building, Daisy clung onto Luigi's arm. They began walking away from Mario, not even noticing him.

"Oh, Peach!" Mario called from behind.

Peach turned around and saw Mario grinning. Both Luigi and Daisy turned around after Peach. "Oh, hi Mario," Peach said, sweetly, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to walk over to the castle with you," Mario said, "I knew you'd be at my brother's book place."

"Library," Luigi corrected under his breath. However, before Luigi could say anything else, Daisy stopped him by silently shushing him. As Mario and Peach walked ahead of Daisy and Luigi, Luigi rolled his eyes, "You know what he's gonna do, right?"

"Yep," Daisy replied, "I think the whole Kingdom know… Well, except Peach."

"That's too bad," Luigi shook his head in disappointment.

"What book did you get?" Mario asked as Peach walked next to him. Before Peach answered, Mario checked behind him and saw that Luigi and Daisy were walking slowly to admire the spring day. When he saw Luigi peck Daisy on the cheek, he tried to smoothly put his arm around Peach. Although it worked, it was not as smooth as Mario intended.

"I'm rereading, actually," Peach told him, "Toadeo and Toadette. You know that old play?"

"Oh yeah. I think I studied it in school once… I'm not a fan of those romances, though" Mario said, "I don't like reading them, anyway. I like _living_ them."

"Oh..." Peach nodded slightly confused. She thought to herself, "What the hell does he mean _living them_?"

* * *

Mario disappeared from the party, so Peach just started talking with various other guests. As she talked with Luigi, Daisy and Toadsworth about Mario's odd behavior, Mario prepared for his own show. In the middle of the crowded foyer of the castle, Mario hid behind a group of toads at the top of the stairwell. He was no longer wearing his overalls, red hat or red shirt; instead, he was wearing a red tuxedo and his hair was gelled and combed to the left. As Mario combed his mustache while looking at himself in a hand-held mirror, a toad with red spots on his mushroom head stood by, watching him.

"This is it," Mario nodded his head as he tossed the mirror to the toad, "I can't thank you enough for what you've done, Toad."

"No thanks needed, Mario," Toad responded, almost sorrowfully. He gritted his teeth, trying to smile at the plumber, and said, "If you're happy with Peach, then I'm happy for you."

"Here goes," Mario said, confidently. As he walked down the steps to the foyer, three toadettes looked dreamily at him. Toad stepped in in front of them, obstructing their view of the plumber.

"In our dreams, ladies," Toad said. The four shared a sigh of disappointment.

As Mario descended the staircase, Peach saw him clad in the red tuxedo. She dropped the drink in her hand and stared, which caused all those she was talking with to look. When they all saw Mario, they looked back at Peach, who was stunned.

"Peach," Mario began. He took Peach's hand in his and continued, "We've known each other since we were babies... I've ventured all across this kingdom, in all worlds and lands, to keep you safe—to rescue you from the evil Koopa King. Now, Peach, my love, can you do me something?" Mario put one knee down and reached in his pocket. He pulled out a small black box and opened it, revealing a diamond ring. Peach put her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened, "Will you marry—?"

"I'm sorry, I—I…" Peach stuttered, interrupting Mario. Clearly, she looked was baffled and confused. In a dead, sprint, she pushed her way up the stairs and through an open door, which had a large star on it, leaving the party behind.


	2. Desperate Measures

After Peach got to her bedroom, she quickly shut the door and turned the lock. She wiped her eyes and slumped down in her bed. When her face was buried in her pillow, she began to cry. Even though Mario had saved her life more times than she could count, she did not love him. Sure, he was a good person, and brave enough to venture across the Mushroom Kingdom to save her. But, she simply could not marry him; she just couldn't…

While she cried, there was a knock on the door. "Peach, it's me," the person said on the other side of the door. Peach collected herself for a few seconds in her bed then approached the door. She opened the door and saw Daisy standing there sympathetically. Peach saw that behind Daisy, at the bottom of the staircase, were Luigi and Mario, who was still wearing the flashy red tuxedo.

"Come in," Peach said quietly, looking at the ground.

Daisy entered the bedroom, which was fairly large, and very pink, as Peach locked the door again. When Peach turned around, Daisy saw that her eyes were wet, her nose red, and the make-up around her eyes was smudged by the tears. As Daisy stood by the door, Peach slumped onto her bed, emotional and tired.

"I can't believe he did that… In front of everyone, too!" Peach said probably louder than she intended, her voice breaking up slightly, "He put me on the spot-"

"He was trying to be romantic, extravagant, you know," Daisy explained, trying to calm her down.

Peach sighed and shrugged, "Still… It's not like we were ever a thing… I mean, I'd like to be, but I'm not ready for marriage… He's saved me so many times, but we just have cake afterwards. I only know him as the brave plumber who goes on adventures to save me from Bowser. We never spend any time together afterwards, yet he expects me to fall in love with him?!"

"I can't blame you," Daisy said. She chuckled lightly and looked at Peach, "He and Luigi are like polar opposites of each other, aren't they?"

"What do you mean?" Peach asked, wiping her wet eyes.

"Well, on one hand, you have Luigi: the tall, sensitive guy who likes to read. Sure, he gets scared, perhaps too easily, but there's something endearing in that. Then, you have Mario. He's the valiant brother, but he's a bit full of himself, isn't he? He's your typical player one archetype: the brave guy who thinks he's the stuff because he goes on all these adventures to save the _damsel in distress_. You know, he leads the way. That's great and all, but-"

"He just isn't the kind of guy who can rule a kingdom with me," Peach nodded, now understanding Daisy's earlier claim.

"Exactly. You don't want to marry him—you shouldn't marry him—but, he has save you many, many times. So, I think he deserves a proper refusal. You never actually said no; you just ran away."

Peach nodded and took a breath to collect herself. She stood up, once more wiping her eyes with a handkerchief to clean up. When she put it down on her bed, she saw something outside on her balcony from the corner of her eye. Quickly, she turned to face the balcony, but nothing was there. Peach turned and looked at Daisy, "Did you see that?"

Mario paced around anxiously as Luigi looked around at one of the paintings on the white walls of the castle. As he tapped it with his fingers, making the image ripple, Mario sighed and looked up at Peach's door. The anticipation was killing him. As Mario began pacing again, he saw Toad and Toadsworth, approach them.

"As she come out yet?" Toadsworth asked, light of breath, leaning on his mushroom-tipped cane.

"No," Luigi told him with a neutral voice, "Daisy went in a couple of minutes ago, though. They're just talking about…"

"About what?" Toadsworth asked.

"About me, obviously," Mario spoke up, letting his nerves get the best of him, "I mean, I thought it was perfect."

"Perfect?" Luigi responded. He faced his brother, disapproval overcoming his neutral face, "You're not even dating her, and you proposed to her at a party in front of hundreds of her subjects. I wouldn't exactly call that a _perfect_ scenario."

"I would have said yes…" Toad muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, Toad," Luigi responded curiously and oblivious, "What was that?"

"Oh, um… Nothing," Toad said, scratching the back of his neck, "It's… I... Nothing…"

Suddenly, an abrupt crash came from Peach's chamber, followed by a high-pitched scream. Mario, Luigi and Toad ran up the stairs as they heard the struggle continue. Luigi tried to open the door, but it would not budge. Mario pushed Luigi aside and struck the door down with a powerful kick. As the door flew back, they saw a clown cart in the room. In the cart was Lemmy pulling Peach into it. And, on the ground, Daisy was pulling Peach towards her by the leg.

As Mario ran over to help, Daisy lost her grip. Just as Mario got to Daisy, Lemmy began pulling away from them with the Princess restrained in the cart. "Help me!" Peach shouted, trying to break free.

"SERIOUSLY!? I JUST GOT BACK FROM SAVING HER!" Mario shouted while running after the cart. Once Lemmy cleared the balcony, the cart began accelerating away from the castle at breakneck speeds. Mario stopped himself at the edge of the balcony and could only watch Lemmy take away the princess, "OH COME ON!"

* * *

Peach initially tried to escape from the cart, but she was too emotionally drained to keep fighting. Besides, even if she somehow managed to knock Lemmy out of the cart, Peach could not go anywhere; she had no idea how to fly a clown cart. Luckily for her, she had kept the book of _Toadeo and Toadette_ under her dress, so she sat down in the cart and read it. It seemed like this was all routine for her now; she would get to the castle, refuse Bowser's marriage proposal and attempts to spend time with her long enough for the Mario Bros to get there. Hopefully, she did not have to do it for long this time around.

Lemmy docked outside of Bowser's room and hopped onto his balcony. As he forced Peach out, she hugged the book to her chest; it had taken them a day to travel across the Mushroom Kingdom, over the Badlands, and into the Koopa Kingdom. As Peach took in the view of the black deserts and lava pits that illuminated the Koopa Kingdom at night, Lemmy walked inside the chamber. Peach followed him, observing the darkness of the chamber. In the shadows of the room, she could barely make out Bowser's figure, which stood in front of a wall near his bed. It soon became clear that Bowser wore a large black cloak, as if to blend into the dark.

"Bowser, I got her!" Lemmy said, triumphantly, "Now, we can—"

Quickly, Bowser turned around to hide whatever he was looking at. Peach looked up at Bowser, who towered over her. Bowser looked down at Peach, made eye-contact with her briefly and turned back to Lemmy. "Why did you do this?" he asked, in a low, offended voice.

Not expecting aggression, Lemmy drew back in shock, "Pardon—?"

"I said that I was done with—!" Bowser roared before stopping himself. He looked down, clinching his fists in frustration, "I can't keep doing this… Just take her down to the dungeon."

"But, sir—"

"NOW."

Lemmy looked down in shame and nodded. Without looking at Peach, Bowser turned around and looked back at whatever he was looking at before. Because of his massive shell, Peach could not see whatever it was. As Lemmy guided a confused Peach down the steps outside of Bowser's chamber (a route that she wished she did not know so well), Red and Goombs walked across the dark, grey foyer complaining and venting about Bowser's melancholy. As Red made a comment about Bowser, Goombs straightened up and tapped Red's foot with his own. Red stopped talking and looked up. There, he saw a sight he though he would never see again; Peach walking through the castle, presumably on her way down to the dungeon. The two servants looked at each other and had the same idea in their heads. However, their opinions on that idea differed.

"No," Goombs said sternly.

"Goombs, this is our last chance," Red refuted, "Giving her a _room_ , not a prison cell, would be a good start."

"But, it's against Bowser's wishes," Goombs stated, "If we oppose him now, when he's more depressed and alone than he has ever been—"

"We might save his life and everybody else's as well," Red interrupted. Before Goombs argued back, Red headed towards Lemmy and Peach.

"Princess, I'll take you the rest of the way," Red said when he reached Lemmy and Peach, "Lemmy, go fetch some refreshments for the princess."

"Refreshments? What are you talking about?" Lemmy asked, arrogant to the situation.

As Red stepped in front of Lemmy, wedging himself between him and the princess, he reiterated, "Lemmy, just go to the kitchen and get some _refreshments_."

Upon hearing it the second time, Lemmy seemed to understand. He began nodding his head, "Oh… Oh! Yes, um, yes...sir?"

"Just go."

After Lemmy left them rather quickly, Red turned to the princess and smiled, "You'll be staying in the guest room this evening."

"Guest room?" Peach questioned, "But, Koopa-"

"Please Princess, call me Red."

"Um, Red, I'm Bowser's _prisoner_. And, he wants to give me a room?"

"He doesn't; we'll talk him into it," Red assured with another smile.

After a long walk up the steps, through yet another dark stone hallway, they reached the room. When Red opened the large wooden door, Peach was surprised to see that the style of the room did not fit in with the gloomy castle: the room's walls were painted baby blue and the floor was a carpet. There was a desk with a large mirror attached to its end and a large wardrobe adjacent to the bed, which was a queen-sized. The sheets reminded Peach of her own room, a light pink, nearly white, colour. As Peach approached the bed, Goombs wobbled into the room alongside Lemmy, who held a tray with a teapot and a teacup, and another Koopa. The other Koopa wore a large pink bowtie on her head and had a pink shell. Peach could easily recognize her as Wendy, one of the Koopa Kids. When Peach looked at the two objects on the tray, she noticed the cup had a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. This cup reminded Peach of the faces of the Koopa Kids that used to, on occasion, assist Bowser.

"What's up with the cup, Red?" Peach asked, sitting down on her bed.

"Oh, it's…" Red hesitated, "It's, uh…"

When she noticed Red struggle, Peach turned to him and gave her his full attention with a quizzical look on her face. Red looked at Wendy, who cleared her throat and stepped in. However, she also hesitated, "Well, Princess, it's… it's a curse."

Peach looked at her more curiously, "Cursed? A curse in what sense?"

"We're all cursed; the whole Kingdom is cursed, Princess," Goombs explained with a clear voice, "You see, quite a number of years ago, we were all cursed by… Heavens, I can't remember what is was… Everyone living under Bowser's reign is doomed to turn into Dry Bones and inanimate objects..."

"Who was the teacup?" Peach asked, picking up the teacup. As if on cue, the teacup's eyes opened, and it yawned. At the sight of this, Peach drew back, nearly dropping it onto her lap.

"One of the Koopa Kids; those kids were one of the first to go, you see... Well, except for Lemmy and Wendy," Red explained sorrowfully. Hoping to clear the air a little, Red cleared his throat quietly and spoke, "A common misconception, actually, is that the Koopa Kids are all of Bowser's children."

"They aren't?" Peach asked, a bit surprised. She placed the teacup back on the tray and thought for a moment.

"No, no," Goombs shook his head, "They're children of the residents of the castle; not related to Bowser nor each other."

"Bowser Jr, actually, is this teacup right here," Red said, motioning to the teacup on the tray.

"But, Bowser Jr is Bowser's son... Isn't he?" Peach asked, rubbing her temples trying to comprehend the situation she was in. As she did this, Lemmy poured some tea into the cup.

"No, that's another common mistake," Goombs shook his head once more with a slight grin on his face, "Junior is the son of Bowser's chief advisor."

"Who is also named Bowser, I assume? You know, because his son's name is Bowser Junior," Peach asked, trying to harder to understand.

"No," Goombs answered swiftly with a smile.

Peach looked at Goombs with a look of confusion. A few seconds of silence later, Peach shrugged and accepted the teacup from Lemmy. Before she sipped from it, she said, "I'll just take your word for it."

* * *

"YOU GAVE HER A ROOM?" Bowser roared at his servants, who stood behind him. He turned around and looked Red and Goombs, along with Lemmy and Wendy, standing around the pedestal with the Fire Flower. Bowser approached them and continued, "I told you that I am done with _all of this_ , and-!"

"And now we have hope," Red said, interrupting Bowser. Shrugging, he stepped up to Bowser and spoke clearly, "Sir, don't you want to rule your people—your kingdom—again? Don't you want all of this to stop?"

"Of course I do," Bowser responded, turning away from them, his voice breaking with uncertainty. Sighing, Bowser continued, "I'd give anything to see the hills green and alive again… But, that's simply impossible now. Peach will never love me, nor can I love her…"

"Stop being like this, Sir; we have to believe in something," Lemmy chimed in, "That's why I went over to the Mushroom Kingdom today. I heard your order, but I just couldn't obey it. Day after day, we fall deeper into this cursed spell. Take Junior; today was the first time I've seen him awake in days!"

"What do you want me to do? Put myself out there and get rejected again?!" Bowser snapped.

"You have to _try_ ," Lemmy responded, nearly begging, "Do it for your people; do it for yourself."

The years of constant rejection and failure had taken its tole on Bowser. That only added to the pain in his heart from failing his people; it was entirely his fault that his kingdom was cursed, and he knew that. Those thousands of Koopas and Goombas did not ask to be cursed, but they had to live, and die, with the consequences of Bowser's vanity and selfishness. Although the mere thought of having to try again struck him down to his very core, Bowser knew that he had to do this; Peach was his last hope to break the curse. He turned back to the other four, who leaned forward in anticipation for his answer.

"Okay… I'll try," Bowser nodded almost reluctantly.


	3. Hope

Unrest set over the Mushroom Kingdom after Peach was kidnapped a day after returning from captivity. In her absence, as usual, Toadsworth was to overtake Peach's duties as monarch. And, as usual, there was a press conference to address what would be done to save the princess. Many toads dressed in sharp suits and press hats sat in chairs that were in front of a pink screen that had the insignia of the Kingdom: a red mushroom with three white spots. As the toads chattered with each other and reviewed their individual notes, Luigi, Mario, and Daisy stood in the back of the room. They saw more journalists file into the room and sit down in the last of the empty seats. After a few minutes, Toadsworth slowly walked to the podium in front of the screen. Various cameras shuttered, and a few news cameras zoomed in on Toadsworth. As he cleared his throat, the toads silenced; the only sounds inside the room were the few camera shutters.

"Okay, let's get this over with," Toadsworth began.

Though silent mere seconds before, the toads suddenly shouted incredibly loudly, spouting various questions in the direction of Toadsworth. Luigi, Mario and Daisy all put their hands to the ears suddenly; the pitch and volume of the voices was overwhelming without warning.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" a toad in a black suit ordered, stepping in front of the reporters. The glare of the lights off his sunglasses blinded the reports in the front row briefly as the rest of the room became quieter. When that toad pointed at one of the reporters, the reporter stood up as the rest sat down.

"Jeremiah Toadson, Mushroom City Sun. How could this happen less than twenty-four hours after the Princess just returned from captivity?"

Toadsworth sighed and leaned forward on the podium, "We're not entirely sure at this time. From eye-witness testimonies, we can gather that it was not like last time, where there was a multi-airship attack on the castle. This time, it was a single attacker who managed to sneak over our defenses. However, we are still conducting an investigation."

"Will this force the Mushroom Kingdom to increase the budget of Homeland Security?"

"I cannot speak for the Princess, but I hope so After the Mario Bros return with the Princess, she will decide what to do with respect to Homeland Security. As her chief-advisor, I would recommend to her to consider expanding the budget. But, that's something to discuss after the Mario Bros do their thing."

All eyes suddenly turned to the back of the room, where Luigi shrugged and nodded in agreement with Toadsworth. However, Mario rolled his eyes, noticeably irritated, and turned to door. When Luigi looked next to him to see his brother's reaction, and possibly for a nice candid picture, Mario was gone; he had left the press conference in anger and annoyance.

* * *

"I'm not eating dinner with you!" Peach shouted through the closed door.

Outside of the guest room, in the gloomy grey hallway, Bowser stood with his fist on the door. He looked next to him and saw Red and Goombs motion to try once more. "But it's not working!" Bowser snapped in a whisper.

"Be nicer," Red suggested, thinking on his feet, "Don't sound too demanding; make it more of a suggestion—an offer, if you will—not a demand."

Bowser nodded and turned back to the door. Before he knocked again, Goombs spoke up, "But, be sure that you don't sound like you're trying too hard, Sir. You know, be _cool_."

"Cool…" Bowser muttered without confidence. He lifted his fist and went to knock again, but he was interrupted by Peach.

"I heard all of that! The door's very thin, you know!"

"Okay, well, will you ever-so kindly join me for dinner… _please_?" Bowser offered, trying to sound laid-back and relaxed. He looked back at his two servants, who nodded and smiled at Bowser attempt.

"I respectfully decline your offer, but thank you anyway," Peach responded politely a few seconds later.

"FINE!" Bowser roared, now frustrated. Gritting his teeth and clinching his fist, he stomped past Red and Goombs, who tried to stop him from leaving.

"Sir, you have to keep trying—" Goombs said.

Bowser spun around, nearly frothing at the mouth. He looked down at Goombs, and roared, "There's no point! I was trying to reason with her for an hour! Since she doesn't want to listen to me, you can tell her that, if she won't eat with me, she won't eat at all!"

Bowser stomped angrily down the hallway, cursing under his breath. Red looked down, disappointed, and Goombs looked at his foot; it was slowly becoming square and polished cedar in material. Red lost more skin on his arm; now, his entire hand, to the top of his wrist, was entirely bone. They looked at each other, sulking, and walked back down the stairs.

* * *

Lemmy carried a teapot and Bowser Jr up the stairs towards Bowser's chamber; he heard about what happened earlier with Peach and decided to prepare some tea. Bowser often enjoyed tea when he was frustrated and upset, so Lemmy thought that it would be a pleasant surprise for him. As he climbed the stone steps, he heard something suddenly move in the dark hallway to his left. He quickly turned and saw Peach, in a pink tank-top and white shorts, leaning on a small table that she accidentally bumped into. She froze in place; Lemmy had caught her sneaking out of her room.

"What are you doing, Princess?" Lemmy asked.

"I, uh… Just got hungry, you know?" Peach said after straightening up and backing away from the table. As she scratched the back of her head, she continued, "But, I heard Bowser say that I couldn't have any food unless I ate with him…"

Lemmy looked at the tray in his hands, thinking deeply. After he looked back at Peach, Lemmy said, "I'll take you to the kitchen. It'll be our secret."

Relieved, Peach smiled and followed Lemmy. They were walking down the steps when Red and Goombs crossed them. Red, initially shocked, looked surprised and delighted. Goombs, on the other hand, was bewildered. Red bowed and asked, "Change your mind about dinner, Princess?"

"I'm starving, but… I just don't want to eat with-"

"I understand. Lemmy, take the princess down to the kitchen and have Wendy prepare a three-course meal for our guest."

From Red's side, Goombs quickly whispered, "We can't keep rebelling against Bowser—!"

"Trust me," Red whispered back, turning to Goombs slightly, "We're doing Bowser a favour."

Goombs looked at Red in shock as Red and Lemmy escorted Peach to the kitchen. As the three chatted down the staircase, Goombs sighed in annoyance. Coming down from one of the hallways were a pair of withering Hammer Bros, seemingly talking about the gloominess of the castle. Goombs called them over and, when they hobbled over to him, ordered, "Make sure that the Master is busy for the next few hours. Keep him inside the wing if possible."

The Hammer Bros nodded and went on their way to Bowser's chamber. Goombs turned back and walked down the rest of the steps. A minute or so later, he caught up with Red in the foyer as Lemmy took Peach into the dining room. After Goombs hopped off the last step of the large staircase, he panted and leaned his head on Red's shell. As Red turned, Goombs kept panting, trying to catch his breath, "A three-course meal… Seriously?"

"Relax, Goombs. She's still a little scared and reluctant. I think that, if we feed her right, she'll feel more relaxed. You know, she might even feel at home. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I will, only because it's too late for me to do anything now. Just don't make a lot of noise. If Bowser were to find out about this, he'll take us before the curse does."

"Okay, we'll keep it down."

Goombs nodded and hobbled back across the foyer to another room. When Goombs was out of sight, Red scurried across the foyer towards an old piano. The piano looked like it had not been played in years; before the curse, it had been nice dark oak and polished, but now the wood looked rotten and the legs looked as if they would collapse any minute. Red put his hand on the top of the piano and whispered, "Ludwig! Wake up! I need you to play some dinner music."

The piano responded, playing a few high notes as if to agree. Red smiled and clapped his hands, "Awesome! Come now, let's go—oh, right… Lemmy!" Red shouted towards the dining room, "I need some help!"

* * *

Peach left the dining room many hours later. She entered the foyer tiredly and satisfied; though the cuisine and spices only slightly differed than those of the Mushroom Kingdom, the meal was unlike anything she had eaten before. Wendy walked out next to her and said, "That was something I made with no time to prep for; you should try the meals here when I have time to prepare."

"It was amazing, regardless," Peach complimented with a grin. After a second of thought, she asked, "How old are you? From what I can guess, maybe a teenager… But, if that's the case, there's no teenager I know that is on the same culinary level as you."

"I'm, like, fifteen... I think," Wendy told, pausing for a moment to think. In the end, she shrugged nonchalantly, "Because of the curse, we don't age. I couldn't even tell you what my real age is… It's been years since that fateful night."

"Do you remember what happened?" Peach inquired curiously.

Wendy shook her head, "It was so long ago; I couldn't tell you."

Before Peach began to walk up the stairs, she saw two Hammer Bros come down the staircase from the hallway opposite of her room. They looked tired and worn out from something. As they passed Peach, seemingly without noticing her, one complained, "God, that Bowser's such a drag now… All he does is look at that damn painting…"

"Painting…?" Peach pondered quietly. She looked back at Wendy, who smiled at the passing Hammer Bros. When the Hammer Bros were clear of the staircase, Peach asked, "What painting?"

"Pardon?" Wendy asked politely, turning her attention back to Peach.

"Oh… Nothing…" Peach quickly said, looking at the hallway that the Hammer Bros had just left, "Have a good night."

"Going to sleep already? It's only nine o'clock?" Wendy asked, politely, "Well, it must've been a long day for you. Good night."

Peach walked backwards and waved at Wendy, who went back to the kitchen to wash dishes with Lemmy. Quickly, Peach turned and walked into the hallway that lead to Bowser's chamber. As she walked around the dark, stone corridor, she looked around and saw many empty picture frames on the wall. Though she had been down this hallway many times before, she never actually noticed the emptiness and darkness inside it. She followed the route to Bowser's chamber and, when she got there, saw that the door had been left ajar. Against her better judgement, she went inside. The chamber was a mess, just like when she was in there with Lemmy. She inspected the walls and bumped into a pedestal without noticing it. On the pedestal, she saw the Fire Flower levitating in a glass container. She pressed her hand lightly over it; the flower produced some heat, but not a lot. Clearly, Peach thought, the flower was close to death. After observing the flower, she noticed something behind her in the reflection of the container. She turned around and looked at the wall Bowser was staring at before.

There was a grand portrait of a handsome prince. The face was pale and clean, his jaw square and sharp, high cheekbones, brown, shapely and bushy eyebrows, broad shoulders, thin waist, tall and full figure, long red hair that looked like fire… There was something odd about it, however. The longer Peach stared at the portrait, she kept noticing something strange about it, yet she could not find it. After she looked over the painting several more times, she found what was so strange about it; the eyes were red, just like Bowser. Suddenly, she came to a staunch realization; the prince in the portrait _was_ Bowser _._

Soon after her realization, there was a loud thud behind her. Peach turned around quickly and saw Bowser towering over top of her. Although his eyes were filled with fire and rage, Peach kept imaging the prince from the portrait. Bowser growled, "What are you doing in here?!"

Peach did not answer, instead studying Bowser closely. The longer she looked, the more features and similarities she found between the Koopa and the Prince. "You were a prince…" Peach muttered, still processing what she had just discovered.

Bowser panted aggressively for several moments. Peach should have been scared; Bowser snarled, showing his fangs and flames in his mouth. Normally, this would have intimidated Peach, but it was not working this time. She slowly approached Bowser, who became less aggressive with each of the Princess' steps. Eventually, Peach was at Bowser's feet, just staring up at him, still studying his face. Bowser stopped and straightened up, confused. He did not expect Peach to wrap her arms around his torso. She tucked her head into his chest as Bowser put his arms out in surprise.

"I'm sorry," Peach sighed.

"...For what?" Bowser asked with both arms still out.

Peach let go and backed up, so Bowser did not have to put his head down to speak to her. Bowser turned his head curiously as Peach continued, "I'm sorry for you, for your kingdom. I read about the curse before; I thought it was purely fictional, like one of those myths or fables, but I was wrong. I wish I could help you."

Bowser looked at Peach, still bewildered. This all seemed like a dream to him now; never in his right state of mind would he expect anybody, especially the princess he had so desperately tried to marry, to have sympathy for him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and muttered, "Um, thanks?"

Suddenly, a grin grew across Peach's face; she had thought of a quick idea, "I _can_ help you, actually. I could teach you how to court a potential bride."

"How to court? There's a slight problem, though; nobody would ever want to marry me. The only way I could break this curse is if I could learn to truly love another and earn their love in return. How do you expect to teach me that?"

"I'll show you all the tricks that people have tried to pull on me," Peach continued to grin. Bowser shook his head with reluctance, which prompted Peach to take his large yellow hand. As Peach led him out of his chamber, she said, "Come on."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"We'll start with dinner," Peach kept grinning, not stopping her stride, "How to eat right, what to talk about at the dinner table, all those, you know, _proper table manners_. It'll be fun."

"You and I have very different definitions of _fun_ ," Bowser muttered, his voice fleeting with uncertainty.

As they went down the stairs and into the foyer, Red, while slumped down in front of the piano, waved his hand as if to conduct the song Ludwig was playing. Goombs, who was nearly sleeping next to him, shot up suddenly. Red and Goombs looked and saw Peach lead Bowser to the dining room.

"My word…" Goombs muttered, astonished.

"See? I told you," Red chuckled cheekily.


	4. Something There

After they finally found Mario walking down Mushroom City's main street, Luigi and Daisy sighed in relief. When they caught up to Mario, he turned around with a scorn, as if he were anticipating their arrival. "Where are you going?" Luigi asked.

"Anywhere that isn't there," Mario groaned, clearly agitated, "It's the same old crap from Toadsworth every time: "Oh, when the Mario Brothers save Peach, we'll do this!" or, "Well, Mario and Luigi haven't embarked on the adventure across the **_whole kingdom_** yet, so I can't answer your question"! Luigi, don't you see what's really going on? Toadsworth—no, the entire damn Kingdom—has become completely dependent on us any time Peach gets kidnapped! Aren't you tired of it?"

"Well, we've been doing this since we were kids, Mario—"

"I know, I know… I'm just sick and tired doing this every single time!"

"Well, if you're tired of having to travel through jungles and deserts, I'll talk with my dad," Daisy suggested lightly, "Sarasaland has a much better military than the Mushroom Kingdom; he can take you to across the Mushroom Kingdom, maybe around the boarder of the Kingdom and the Badlands."

"And Sarasaland's only a few hours away from here," Luigi added, trying to persuade his brother, "Worst-case scenario, we end up in Sherbert Land and travel a few days, maybe a week, to Bowser's castle"

Mario sighed tiredly, "You two go ahead and do that. I'm done."

Luigi tried to say something, but Daisy stopped him by lightly putting her hand on his shoulder. They watched as Mario walked down the street annoyed. As Mario left their view, they turned around and walked the other way, flabbergasted.

* * *

"No, it's _Good Day, my lady. How are you this fine afternoon_?" Peach explained in a polite posh voice while bowing.

Both Bowser and Peach had been walking around the castle all morning, practicing conversation questions and proper mannerisms. Now, they were in his chamber with Goombs, Wendy and a few other withering servants of the castle. It had taken almost three days for Peach to convince Bowser to deal with the mess in his chamber; his curtains and various rugs were torn and stale, dust covered most of the shelves, and the only light that broke through was from the entrance to his balcony. It seemed that the only clean part of the room was a small radius around the pedestal with the fire flower. As a few Koopas carried the rags out and dusted the various shelves and empty picture frames, Bowser groaned in annoyance and cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon, m'lady—" Bowser began in a posh voice like the one Peach spoke in.

"Not _m'lady_ ; it's _my lady_ ," Peach corrected quickly and sweetly.

Bowser sighed and sat on his large bed as Wendy moved the blinds from the windows, letting in the noon-hour light. As Goombs kicked open the door to the balcony, clearing the room of the fume-like dust, Bowser shrugged, "I don't see why it matters. It's just making two words one…"

"It makes a difference, trust me," Peach interrupted, " _My lady_ sounds more sophisticated and graceful. _M'lady_ is something that a… Okay, you're just going to have to trust me on this one. Try again."

Bowser shrugged again and cleared his throat. He began speaking in a posh voice, though it was rigid, not smooth nor relaxed, "Good afternoon, my lady. How are you this fine afternoon?"

"I'm doing well. Lovely weather, isn't it?" Peach replied, becoming more posh and formal again.

"...What was the response to that again?" Bowser asked, drawing a complete blank.

Peach sighed and stretched her back, seemingly disappointed that her lessons did not entirely stick. As she fixed her dress, she responded, "…You've got mannerisms down at least. What time is it?"

"Noon," Goombs answered from behind, "Lemmy has just finished preparing lunch. He'll have the table ready in a few minutes."

"Best not keep him waiting," Bowser grinned, with no confidence behind it. Peach's initial reaction of Bowser's smile made him stop and scratch the back of his neck. He muttered to himself, " _Nice one, Bowser… You just killed the mood_."

As Bowser walked by Peach and caught up with Goombs, Peach followed closely behind them and giggled to herself. There was something cute about Bowser's attempted smile and awkwardly-delivered remark, she thought to herself. As she studied the back of his shell, she snapped out of her little trance; what the hell did she mean by "cute"? She was only helping Bowser because she felt bad for him, and she had nowhere else to go. Maybe, if this worked out, he would stop coming after her; maybe he would finally find a princess for himself. And, what a lucky girl she'd be, Peach continued thinking to herself. Bowser was not what people made him out to be. His kidnapping was not motivated by some sick fantasy; he was much more than your run-of-the-mill villain. He was a complex, hurt person. It was wrong to think of him as a monster.

"Princess, are you alright?" Goombs asked. Peach stopped walking, realizing that she had been thinking off in her own little world for the entirety of their walk to the dining room.

"Oh? Oh, yeah… I'm fine," Peach nodded, snapping out of her daydreaming, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you weren't responding to me when I was asking you about the Mario Bros," Goombs said, "I was just wondering how long they would take to get here. You know, I need to schedule meal times and laundry accordingly."

"A few months, maybe," Peach answered, "It depends on when they left Mushroom City. The earliest, I would say, would be May… Perhaps…. They have gotten here in thirty-one days before, I think?"

Goombs looked baffled as they walked into the dining room. In the dining room, there was a large table that stretched about fifteen feet. Before the curse, the table would be filled with the staff and their families, but never Bowser. Bowser, like he always had, sat at the very end of the table in fancy golden chair. He had eaten alone, in that exact same spot, for his entire life. As Peach sat down at the end opposite of Bowser, Goombs said, "Thirty-one days!? To travel across the entire Mushroom Kingdom? That's absurd!"

"Well, love makes people to crazy things," Peach replied, in a tone as if she were gossiping. She leaned closer to Goombs and said, "It's Mario who's in love with me, by the way; not Luigi."

"Figures as much," Goombs nodded, in agreement, "Now, enjoy your meal, Princess."

As Goombs waddled out of the room, Bowser looked across the table at Peach, who silently sipped her bowl of Mock Koopa Soup. He sighed, picked up his bowl and walked across the room. As Wendy came into the room with a loaf of bread and butter, Bowser put his bowl down next to Peach. When he sat down, Peach looked at him confused.

"Why are you sitting over here?" she asked curiously, "You've always sat over—"

"Just trying to be friendly, that's all," Bowser explained with a smile. This time, he made sure that it was a genuine smile, not some poor attempt at one. And, this time, Peach half-smiled and nodded, unlike her reaction before. And, because of this reaction, Bowser breathed easier; it felt like a brick was lifted off his chest. As Peach cleaned her lip with her napkin, Wendy put the bread and butter down on the table.

"So, you think that Mario will be here in a month?" Bowser asked.

"More or less," Peach answered with a shrug, "I'm not trying to sound like a total snob, but he's crazy in love with me. After all, _love is a smoke raised with the fumes of sighs_ -"

" _Being purged, a fire sparkling in lover's eyes; being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears_ ," Bowser recited sorrowfully while looking at the table. As Bowser sighed and buttered his piece of bread, Peach became surprised. When Bowser saw the look on her face, he asked, "Toadeo and Toadette, right?"

"Yes," Peach nodded, suddenly excited, "Did you read it?"

"Multiple times," Bowser answered, though not sharing Peach's enthusiasm, "Well, not on my own accord; schooling reasons. It's a depressing work, really."

"Well, it is, but it's also the greatest love story in the world," Peach responded.

Chuckling, Bowser shook his head and looked back down at his bread, "Of course you think it's a romance. Princess, it's not the sappy love story you think it is; it's a tragedy."

"It maybe tragic, but it's also the greatest romance ever written," Peach reiterated sweetly. She adjusted herself to get closer to the Koopa, "Two star-crossed lovers who would rather die than live another day without each other. How much more romantic could you get?"

Instead of posing an obvious counter-argument, Bowser thought of something else. He stood up and said, "Well, since you like it so much, there's something I'd like to show you."

They ventured out of the dining room and walked into the foyer. After they crossed the foyer, Bowser lead Peach down a hallway that she had never seen before. This hallway was lit only by the daylight from outside, making it much different from the standard grey that seemed to engulf the castle. This hallway was more of a warm, rusted bronze and felt rather cozy. At the end of the hallway was a large wooden door. Bowser opened the door and entered inside. Peach closely followed and saw that, through the door, was a large room, many stories in height, with many books inside. The shelves reached the ceiling, which must have been three stories above her, and were all covered in books. It was the same size as Luigi's library, but this one was more impressive. Unlike Luigi's library, which had a full-time staff and was quite popular among the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser's was completely empty (besides the books) and had a beautiful maroon carpet that was quite well maintained. Bowser walked up to one of the shelves close to the door and pulled out a sizable green book. When he opened the book, Peach saw that the pages were yellow from age and the writing in it was done completely by hand.

"It's an original manuscript of _Toadeo and Toadette_ ," Bowser explained, letting Peach inspect the book further, "My grandfather collected many first edition classics; it was a hobby of his, I guess."

"What else is in here?" Peach asked after she looked up from the book.

"Hell if I know," Bowser said, looking up at the shelves, "I haven't been here in years."

"Why is that? You don't read anymore?" Peach asked.

Bowser sighed, "This place reminds me of being human… Then, all those thoughts just remind me of my failure as a ruler."

Peach nodded and looked down remorsefully, "Oh, I'm sorry; I shouldn't asked…"

Bowser sensed the sudden shift of feeling in the air; his comment had turned the happy, joyous mood into one of angst, sadness and melancholy. He turned to Peach a few seconds later and attempted to restore the bright mood, "You know, some of these books are in the Old Hylian syllabary."

"I don't believe you," Peach said, smiling again.

"Come; I'll show you," Bowser responded, presenting his hand towards Peach and bowing. He looked up a second later and asked, "This is the proper mannerism, right?"

"Right," Peach laughed, putting her hand in Bowser's.

* * *

It had been days since Luigi last saw Mario. He looked everywhere; the house, the castle, a few taverns, a couple of green pipes… Perhaps Mario had set off without him, Luigi thought. However, that thought quickly left his mind; Mario would not leave without him. Even if Mario probably would be more efficient on his own, Luigi provided moral support and, on occasion, saved his life when Mario did something rather reckless. Luigi was the perfect player two to Mario's player one.

Finally, Luigi gave up. He walked by a popular tavern and looked inside a window almost desperately. There, he saw Mario lazily sitting in a large lounge chair with his feet kicked up next to a fire. Luigi entered the tavern and crossed the busy establishment. He passed a few toads, a couple shy-guys, one or two yoshis, and finally got to Mario on the other side of the room. As Mario slumped in the chair with his head propped up looking at the fire with no emotion, Luigi reached out to tap his shoulder. However, Toad stopped him before he could.

"Don't disturb him," Toad warned, holding a glass of soda, "He's been like this for days."

"What's gotten into him?" Luigi pondered while looking at his brother brooding, "It's like seventy-five degrees outside and he's sitting by a fire like it's still winter—"

"It's the proposal; I can tell," Toad replied in a gossiping voice, "He hasn't taking it well at all. And," at this point, Toad pulled Luigi close to his head and whispered, "word on the street is there's gonna be a coup."

"Against Toadsworth?" Luigi whispered back, absolutely horrified, "Why?"

"Because there are people who think he's working with Bowser. I guessed they reasoned that Toadsworth lets Bowser go through the Mushroom Kingdom unchallenged. When Peach is gone, Toadsworth is the most powerful man in the Kingdom, so it makes sense."

"But, if Toadsworth is power-hungry, like they think, why hasn't _he_ staged a coup yet?"

"I don't speak for them, Luigi. All I do is tell Italian plumbers the things I hear on the street."

"Well, tell _that_ _Italian plumber_ ," Luigi pointed at Mario, "that I'm leaving for the Koopa Kingdom in three days, _with him or without him_."

After Luigi left the tavern, Toad pulled up a wooden chair next to Mario's seat. Mario did not look at Toad as he took a sip of his soda. When a few more seconds passed of not being acknowledged, Toad spoke up, "Mario, you gotta do something! You haven't moved in days."

Mario remained unmoved. Sighing, Toad got out of his seat, in attempt to add energy to his words, "Come on, Mario! If you're not going to move, I'm gonna have to leave you here _alone_ to wallow away in your self-pity."

Mario's body shifted slightly, which made Toad excited and hopeful. However, Mario just shook out his left arm, which had fallen asleep. When Mario returned to the position he had been in before, Toad looked at the door and took a step in that direction. However, he sighed and sat back down, next to Mario, "Okay, you called my bluff… Look Mario, you've gotta do something. Luigi's leaving for the Koopa Kingdom in a few days, and if you don't go with him, he'll have to save the day without you, then he'll get all the fame-"

"I really, REALLY don't care," Mario said, still not moving from the chair.

Now, Toad became frustrated and shouted, "If you don't get out of that damn chair in the next ten seconds, I'll start singing! I swear to God I'll do it—!"

"Oh my goodness, OKAY!" Mario exclaimed, rising from the chair, "Just please, for the sake of my own sanity, don't start singing."

"That's the spirit!" Toad smiled, raising his glass triumphantly, "Now, what are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna join that coup," Mario said, "And, when we get rid of Toadsworth for good, I will lead an army into the Koopa Kingdom and end this stupid charade once and for all."

Toad was frozen with his glass in the air; he wanted Mario to do something, but this had not crossed his mind. As the color drained from his face, Mario stretched his back and looked at the door. Before he left, he said, without looking at him, "I'll see you around, Toad."

* * *

Peach and Bowser walked around the castle grounds; it was a warm spring afternoon and, although the grounds were as gloomy and dark as everywhere else in the Koopa Kingdom, there was still a warm and bright atmosphere. As they walked down a stone pathway, Peach noticed the four dead trees in front of them; the bark on them was black before, but, as they approached them, the bark became more and more brown. As she inspected the trees, Bowser looked at the fields that the trees stood on. On the fields, which consisted of black, salted dirt before, the dirt had become slightly earthier. When he looked closer, he saw that there was even dead grass on the fields.

"That's weird," Bowser commented while motioning his head over to the grass, "There hasn't been anything, alive or dead, on the fields in forever."

"Maybe that means you're one step closer to breaking the curse," Peach replied as they reached a bridge. While they crossed the bridge, she added, "The girl must not be too far away."

"I hope not," Bowser nodded optimistically. After they crossed the bridge, Bowser looked at Peach. She had been hugging a red book against her pink dress for the entire length of their walk, "What book did you pick out?"

"Just one of those _sappy romances_ that you've associated with me," Peach told almost in a teasing manner, "I like to refer to it as the _second_ greatest love story of all time."

"Are you trying to provoke me?" Bowser replied with a slight laugh.

" _Maybe_ ," Peach said slyly and cheekily. She giggled a second later as they turned a corner, "It's _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_."

"Ah, a classic," Bowser nodded. He began quoting it, as if he had just read it, " _Love is like a tree: it grows by itself, roots itself deeply in our being and continues to flourish over a heart in ruin-"_

" _The inexplicable fact is that the blinder it is, the more tenacious it is. It is never stronger than when it is completely unreasonable_ ," Peach finished, looking longingly in the distance. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, disappointed. A second later, she asked, "Why couldn't Mario be romantic like that? His idea of romance is proposing to a girl he barely knows."

"Well, he doesn't sound that far off from me," Bowser muttered to himself. He looked back at the castle and saw Red and Wendy chatting on the balcony of his chamber. As they waved and gave a thumbs-up to Bowser, Bowser shook his head and cracked a small smile.

"Shall we go inside? I'm getting hungry," Peach suggested.

"Alright," Bowser nodded, "I'll have Wendy prepare some dinner."

As they walked back towards the castle, Red and Wendy watched them from the balcony. They were both still smiling, "Have you noticed that the castle's becoming more and more bright?" Red asked Wendy as they turned back towards the chamber.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Wendy asked back, "Just last week, it was gloomy and hopeless as it always is. Now look at the walls! I can actually see the golden wallpaper breaking through the grey stones. And the paintings are coming back."

"Slowly, but surely," Red nodded as they walked back out of the chamber and down the hallway. Like Wendy had said, the gloomy and dark grey stones that once covered the walls slowly were cracking. Inside the cracks were seemed to be gold. As Wendy touched one of the cracks and rubbed her finger along it, Red looked at one of the empty frames on the wall. The frame had a canvas inside, but there was nothing on it.

"Wendy, Bowser has sent for you," Goombs announced while he waddled down the hallway slowly, "He wants you to start prepping-"

"Lemmy's on it," Wendy said while she grazed a few more stones.

"Have you seen this, Goombs? The curse is slowly fading on the castle," Red said joyfully, "I'm think that, by the time that the Mario Brothers get here, Bowser and Peach will already be in love."

"Bowser and Peach? In love?" Wendy laughed, "Come on; he might be falling for here, but she's just helping him. I think this is a sign that the girl is closer than ever before. But, it's not Peach."

"Oh naive Wendy, of course you can't see it," Goombs shook his head, "They're falling for _each other_ as we speak."

Before Wendy spoke again, Red stepped in, "The curse is closer to being broken than it ever has before, whether the girl is Peach or somebody else. That's the only thing that matters, right? Come on, you two; we still have work to do."


	5. Coup d'Etat

Toadsworth sat behind a large bureau in a massive office. The office's carpets were white and had miniature mushroom heads designed along it and the walls were a peach colour. It was the office of the ruling Monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom, and, because Peach was not there, Toadsworth had to do all the paperwork. These briefs were about a wide-range of subjects, from the economy to the military and foreign affairs in other kingdoms and so on. As Toadsworth opened a file and began working, about seven toads entered the office quickly. They stood in silence as Toadsworth looked up from the desk.

"What is this?" Toadsworth asked after he took off his reading glasses. He placed them onto the desk next to the papers, "If you'd like to meet with me, you're going to have to talk with the secretary-"

"It's not a meeting," somebody said from behind all the toads. Toadsworth could recognize that voice anywhere; it was Mario.

Mario passed one of the toads and stood in the center of the office, seemingly drawing all the attention of the room. He put his hands behind his back, staring at Toadsworth with a certain look of deception. Still confused, Toadsworth rose from the desk and grabbed his cane. As he hobbled over towards the center of the office, Mario put his chin up and tried to look intimidating—as intimidating as a man in overalls could look, anyway.

"Well Mario, what's going on? Why are you all here?" Toadsworth asked.

"Because this is a coup," Mario answered quickly. He shook his head, smiling an odd smile and said, "Coup's a bad word for it, really… This is a takeover."

"Takeover? You've come to overthrow me? My dear Mario, to overthrow me is to overthrow Princess Peach."

Mario paused for a second, scanning the room. The seven toads he entered with stood solemnly and silently. When Mario turned back to Toadsworth, he announced, "I don't see the Princess in here. All I can see is a traitor sitting behind her desk."

"Traitor?! Are you mad?!" Toadsworth roared.

Mario raised his eyebrows and pouted his lips. After he stepped to the side, Toadsworth saw three toads in black suits and sunglasses enter the office. They surrounded Toadsworth as one of them announced, "Toadsworth, you are under arrest for treason—"

"Treason!? What are you talking about!? I'm the crown's most trusted advisor-!"

When one of them grabbed Toadsworth by the arm, he violently slapped it off him with his cane. Backing up, he snapped, "Do not touch me!"

"Sir, please don't fight it," the one toad responded, sternly yet apologetically, "A man your age shouldn't be trying to fight back."

"This is a set-up, can't you tell?!" Toadsworth stated, now shouting in anger, "Get your hands off me!"

When Toadsworth hit one of the suit-wearing toads again, all three charged him at once. Two pinned him against the desk, sending the papers and files spiralling onto the floor. The other one stood behind Toadsworth and cuffed his wrists. When the three toads forced him out of the office, Mario sat behind the desk, in Peach's seat, and crossed his legs coolly.

"Well, what now? I didn't think we'd get this far, to be honest," one of the toads asked.

"We mobilize," Mario answered while putting his hands together on his lap, "The sooner we mobilize, the sooner we'll have the princess back."

* * *

After she picked out a new book to read, Peach walked down the hallway and turned back into the foyer. As she entered the foyer, she was greeted by the sweet sounds of music. When she looked and saw Bowser sitting at the piano, she grinned in pleasant surprise. Peach walked towards Bowser as he continued playing. Bowser's finger slipped and hit the wrong key. After he cursed under his breath, he looked up and saw Peach standing there with the biggest of smiles on her face.

"You play the piano?" she asked, surprised.

" _Used to_ ," Bowser began, "It was a hobby. You know, I could just get away from the stresses of the world for a few minutes. Now, it's just hard to play because of these stupidly large fingers."

"That was really good regardless," Peach complemented with a slight nod, "Keep practicing; I think you'll be surprised at what a musical instrument could do for your love life."

Bowser nodded, "Will do."

As Peach turned and walked towards the stairs, Red seemingly appeared out of nowhere and surprised Bowser by popping up next to him. Bowser jumped in surprised and jumped back, hitting a few keys on the piano. Peach turned back and laughed at the little scene. She looked back at Bowser and grinned before turning back to the stairs.

"My god Red, you scared me to death," Bowser said to his servant, "What is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you that she's taken a real liking to you," Red responded, "Seriously, it's quite refreshing to see."

"Refreshing? From what?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Sir," Red said, "Before she got here, you just gave up hope; it was definitely the worst that I've ever seen. Now, you're changing _because of her_."

"Well, of course I'm changing because of her," Bowser explained quite plainly, "She's teaching me how to court a potential bride; I can't be the same desperate monster I was before, not if I want to break the curse anyway."

Red scoffed, leaning on the piano as his slightly wheezed and shook his head, "Come on, Sir! You can't deny that you're falling for her. It's painfully obvious, you know."

"Okay, you caught me," Bowser said, leaning most of his weight on the piano. Suddenly, the piano made a very loud, abrupt sound to convey anger and discomfort. Bowser jumped up from the piano and muttered, "Sorry, Ludwig."

He cleared his throat and straightened up, continuing, "I've got a little crush on her, yes. It's an easy thing to do, Red. She's kind, smart, and so, so beautiful… But, she's not for me; she'll never like me _like that_."

"You never know, Sir," Red replied optimistically, "Have you ever asked her?"

"Heavens no!" Bowser exclaimed, baffled, "I've told you all so many times that she'll never love me. It's that simple; she's only helping me because she has pity for me. And, if she could help me find the girl to break my curse, I'll do whatever I can to make her feel comfortable."

"Whatever is going on, it's working," Red smiled, showing Bowser his arm. Before, the entire hand and some of the wrist were entirely bone. Over the past few days, it appeared that skin had grown back on his wrist. It was a very subtle difference, but a difference nevertheless, "Even the castle walls are coming back… Gradually."

"That must mean she's close, Red—"

"Of course she's _close_ , Sir; she's sitting in the guest room in the wing opposite of yours! You have to tell her how you truly feel!"

"I'm not going to, Red. She's not the one."

* * *

"Sarasaland will not get involved with a war between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom," Daisy announced sternly and loudly in the throne room. The throne room, which hosted a large crowd of toads and toadettes this day, was quite large and the walls were painted light pink. Along the walls were stained glass windows and several paintings of past monarchs of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Daisy, who stood next to Luigi at the foot of a few steps that led to the throne, crossed her arms stubbornly and looked up at the throne. In the throne was Mario wearing his regular overalls and hat. From his slumped position before, Mario leaned forward in the throne and responded, almost pleading, "Princess Daisy, even a few tanks and planes would help our—"

"I've told you my answer already," Daisy interrupted quickly, her words sharp, "There has been tension between these two kingdoms for years; Sarasaland _will not_ get mixed up in... Whatever the hell you're about to do."

"But Princess, we don't have enough planes or tanks to take the Koopa Kingdom without risking the lives of thousands—"

"Well, you should've thought about that before you decided to declare a war," Daisy spat back. She turned to the crowd behind her and walked towards the door. Luigi quickly followed her as Mario closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. After the two cleared out of the throne room, Mario stood up, silencing the murmurs and bickering in the crowd.

"We will still march on the Koopa Kingdom, even if we don't have aid from our greatest ally," Mario announced, "If you are an able-bodied young toad or toadette, I urge you to enlist now. Fourteen days from now, the first recruits will ship off to boot camp and basic training. If you want to see the princess again, you will enlist. God save the Princess."

"God save the princess," the people repeated solemnly.

Just outside of the castle, a heated Daisy stormed down the street, "My god, can you believe what your brother is doing!? He framed Toadsworth, and now he's marching an army to Bowser's doorstep! Do you know how many toads will die?!"

Hoping to bring Daisy down, Luigi spoke up, trying speak with hope, "Please, you just need to relax. We'll set out tomorrow for the Koopa Kingdom. If we get to Desert Land by nine o'clock tomorrow night, we'll be in good shape; we'll get to the Koopa Kingdom before Mario could begin his little crusade against the Koopas. Then, Peach will be back, and she could talk some sense into him."

"Or…" somebody said from behind Daisy. Both Luigi and Daisy followed the voice and saw Toad standing behind them both. Once Toad had their attention, he continued, "You could go West of here; towards Dinosaur Island."

"And do what at Dinosaur Island?" Luigi asked, confused, "We're not going to visit Yoshi; we're going to save Peach. Dinosaur Island is in the exact opposite direction of the Koopa Kingdom."

"No, you should visit Yoshi," Toad encouraged. He stepped closer to them and said, "Word on the street is that he's experimenting with warp cannons; you could get to the border of Sherbert Land and the Badlands in seconds. After that, it's only a few-day journey to Bowser's Castle."

"Where do you hear all these rumors?" Luigi asked staring at Toad with a peculiar look on his face.

" _Little birds_ , Luigi," Toad responded quickly and mysteriously, "Plus, I wouldn't have told you this if I didn't actually believe that Yoshi might be onto something. Seriously, I need Peach back here to talk some sense into my man."

"Mario's not your man, Toad," Luigi shook his head as he brought his hand to his face in disgust and annoyance, "You're just obsessed—"

"Shut up, Luigi; I can still believe!" Toad exclaimed, offended. After collecting himself momentarily, Toad turned back to Daisy, who held back laughter, "So, Princess, what do you say?"

"I think that's our only option," Daisy nodded in agreement, "We should start heading towards Dinosaur Island."

Shocked, Luigi shouted, "Daisy, it's experimental! Why don't we just—? "

"We need to get there as soon as possible," Daisy replied, "The longer we take, the closer Mario will be to marching. Let's go, Luigi."

* * *

As Peach laid in her bed reading, she heard a knock on the door. She put her book down on her bed and walked towards the door. When she opened it, she saw Wendy and Lemmy in the hallway with a cart of tea and some other refreshments. "Complements from the kitchen?" Peach grinned.

"We just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay," Lemmy said sympathetically, "It must be hard to be away from home for so long."

After Wendy and Lemmy entered the room and placed the tray by her bed, Peach sat back down on it and took the cup of tea. She blew on it as Wendy tended to the tray, "I wouldn't say that I'm homesick… I mean, I've been here so many times. Even though it's been against my will, I don't think this place is too bad. I guess it kind of grows on you," Peach added with a slight chuckle.

Wendy nodded with a half-smile. As Peach drank more of her tea, Wendy asked, "How do you feel about Bowser?"

After she finished her glass, Peach put it down on the tray and thought for a few seconds. What did she think about Bowser?

"Well, I think that, with what I know now, he's just misunderstood," Peach replied, "He's obviously not the monster all those stories and people say he is. He's… He's just very misunderstood—a complicated fellow with a… Unique past."

" _Unique_ is one word for it," Lemmy commented aside. He spoke up a second later, "Well, what about the girl? You think she's close?"

"She has to be, Lemmy," Peach answered, thinking, "Maybe when Bowser meets this girl and becomes a handsome prince again, we can have some tea; that'd be nice, wouldn't it? Both our kingdoms would be civil with each other, allies even; maybe we could end this bitter rivalry."

Wendy began chuckling, "So, you think that Bowser used to be handsome?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Peach defended herself with a smirk. As she spoke, her cheeks slowly became more and more flushed, as if she were embarrassed, "He had the perfect face, the broad shoulders, thin waist, gorgeous hair… You can't tell me that you don't feel the same way."

"I'll give it to you: Bowser was handsome as a prince," Wendy agreed. She cleared her throat and said, "Lemmy and I will start preparing tonight's dinner. It should be pretty good tonight, Princess."

As both Koopas left the room, Peach said, "You two never disappoint me!"

* * *

After he finished dinner that evening, Bowser sat back down at the piano and began playing a few random keys. Those few random keys turned into a song he had learned from his childhood, one from one of those composers from the Koopa Kingdom of old. It was quite a slow and sorrowful tune that he knew by heart. As he played, he closed his eyes and found himself getting lost in the music… Until one of his large fingers struck two keys down at the same time. Bowser tensed up in rage and slammed his fist down on the piano's keys, to which the piano responded by slamming the fallboard onto his hands.

Bowser drew back, holding his hurt fingers and cursing under his breath. Suddenly, he heard laughing next to him. He turned and saw that, while he was playing, Peach had sat down next to him. And he did not even notice because he was so lost in the musical trance.

"That looked like it hurt," Peach commented with that cheekiness Bowser grew accustomed to.

"Thanks for noticing," Bowser muttered, looking at the piano annoyed, "I'm sorry, Ludwig; I shouldn't've taken it out on you."

The piano did not respond and remained with the fallboard down. Bowser sighed and looked back at Peach, "Ludwig's always been the most stubborn of the Koopa Kids."

"I could tell," Peach nodded in agreement. She reached over, about to lift the board, and asked, "Mind if I play?"

"If Ludwig lets you," Bowser responded. And, within a second, the fallboard lifted on its own. Bowser rolled his eyes, both annoyed and amused, "Jackass…"

Peach started to play something rather slow. Soon, Bowser recognized the melody she was playing. However, it confused him greatly, "Why are you playing "Seasons of Love"?"

"It's the only thing I know by heart," Peach replied smiling, "I'm surprised you know what this is; was RENT in of that education curriculum that included Toadeo and Toadette?"

"No, it's just… I like those tragic and sad plays; I... I can relate to them, in a way," Bowser admitted, rather embarrassed, "It's… It's stupid, really."

"No! It's awesome!" Peach grinned as she stopped playing, "I could never find anybody who would watch it with me willingly! Daisy wouldn't even do it!"

"Well, maybe we could watch it sometime, Princess," Bowser suggested, "Tomorrow night sound good for you?"

"I'd love it," Peach answered.

As she started to play again, Bowser leaned forward. He was following Peach's fingers closely and listening to the melody she played. Behind them, in the doorway of the kitchen, Red and Goombs peaked at them, watching the Princess and the Koopa sit around the piano. Goombs sighed as he turned away from the piano, "And Bowser says it can't happen."

"It can happen, and _it will happen_ ," Red replied, "It has to. We don't have the time for another girl to fall into his lap. We have to show him that there is mutual affection—that Peach is falling for him as well."

"What do you suggest we do?" Goombs said as he waddled across the room slowly, "They're getting along at a steady rate on their own."

As Red walked to catch up with Goombs, he stopped walking. When Goombs turned around to see if he was still there, he saw the look on Red's face; it was a look that Goombs knew too well yet wished he did not. "Please tell me you didn't just think of something stupid," Goombs said, almost begging.

"Stupid is a subjective term," Red told him with a sly grin, "We need to meet with Wendy and Lemmy as soon as we can. I'll tell them about it, and we can have a vote."


	6. Maybe

"That's an awful idea!" Bowser snapped while standing on his balcony. He leaned on the railing, taking in the little sunlight that broke through the cloudy day. In his gaze, he saw Peach outside, getting some fresh air with Goombs. While Bowser himself was getting some air before going back inside, Red approached him with this _awful idea_ or plan, rather; a _romantic candle-lit dinner followed by a dance_. In addition to his plan, Red purchased the all of the food, cleaned the old ball room and ordered a tuxedo for Bowser, custom made, in advance of proposing his plan to Bowser. Despite Red's efforts, Bowser did not approve.

"Sir, if you'd just humor me for a second," Red responded, stepping closer to Bowser, "We _don't have the time_ for another girl! Those changes to the castle were only temporary. Look at the walls—hell, feel the flower! It's almost burnt out. Peach _has to_ be the girl."

While walking up the steps to re-enter the castle, Goombs trip on his wooden foot. As Peach rushed worriedly over to help him, Bowser shook his head. Peach was too sweet, too kind, to be with a monster like him. Although he saw Red's point, he simply could not imagine a world where Peach would love him. The idea was far too absurd in his opinion.

"It's not happening, Red," Bowser continued shaking his head, realising a sigh of angsty frustration.

* * *

Around the dining table in the dining room, Peach and Bowser ate their lunch just like any other day. The topic of their conversation was Mario, and his relationship—or lack of—with Peach. The story, which Peach told rather _creatively_ , centered around the drama of the recent slip-up of Mario's proposal. In fact, Peach told the story in such a compelling way that Lemmy excused himself from the kitchen and asked to sit down to listen.

As Lemmy pulled up a chair next to Peach, opposite of Bowser, Peach continued, "It was such an awkward moment: first of all, it was in front of at least a hundred of my subjects, so if I said no, I'd look like an awful person and ruler; two, we weren't even dating! My relationship with Mario is nothing more than a friendship… A _unique_ friendship."

"Unique in what sense?" Bowser asked, leaning on the table quite intrigued.

"Unique in the sense that all he does is save me. I know next-to-nothing about him," Peach explained with a sigh, "I know Luigi much better; I actually see him when he's not fighting you to save me. He owns the most popular library in Mushroom City."

"What's it called?" Bowser inquired.

"Luigi's Library," Peach answered before taking a sip of her water. As she sipped, Bowser nodded his head.

"Alteration… Nice," Bowser nodded, subtly impressed. In the back of his mind, he remembered the name just in case he could visit it someday.

"So, Bowser," Peach began after she put down her drink, "What about you? What about your past relationships? Who were the _lucky_ girls that you used to court?"

"I never had to court," Bowser explained, half-cocky and half-embarrassed at his past, "The suitors I would meet always threw themselves at me head-first. It was quite sad, really; I never got to know any of them. I'd throw a ball, Goombs would introduce me to Princess, or Lady, _So-and-So_ of _Whatever-Land_ and we'd _dance_ the night away, if you catch my drift."

As Bowser chuckled at his own joke, Lemmy thought about the joke for a second then began laughing hysterically. As Lemmy wiped tears from his eyes while still wheezing and snorting slightly, Peach asked, "So, you used to throw balls?"

Bowser calmed down after a few seconds and took a breath, still smiling from the first joke he had made in years. He cleared his throat and answered with a nod, "Yes, all the time. Extravagant ones, too, if you could imagine that, Princess. Being the vain-stricken prince I was, I never planned any of them. All I did was tell Red and Goombs what I wanted. And it'd always be the same too: all the aristocrats from the nearby villages and towns would come with their wives and families; my potential suitors would all be there; it was catered by Wendy's mother; the music played by Ludwig's father… My word, I can almost _hear_ it… I'll give it to them: Red and Goombs know how to throw a killer party."

"It sounds like it was a fun time," Peach nodded pleasantly, "You should've seen the balls I threw. I'd think yours are more orientated around the dance itself, right? Well, mine were more social. Sure, my suitors would attend, but I would spend most of the time talking with Daisy, or Luigi. They were always together, you know."

"Perhaps I could attend one some day," Bowser smiled.

"Maybe," Peach responded with a sweet, low voice, "It all depends on this question, though: do you know how to dance?"

"Well, I do know how to do the waltz," he explained, thinking, "Obviously, I have to know. It's almost an expectation that, if you're royalty, you know how to waltz. But, I am a bit… Out of practice."

"Just like the piano," Peach responded with a laugh.

As Peach finished her soup, Red came into the room to see how lunch was going. He also came into the kitchen to (hopefully) bring his proposed plan into the conversation. Perhaps, if Peach liked the idea, Bowser would warm up to it. Red snuck around the table to the kitchen first to get some food for himself. Just as he left the room, Bowser, without looking at Peach, tried his luck at another joke, "Well, maybe we could have a ball of our own; you could teach me how to dance again."

Suddenly, Peach's face lit up. Her face shot from the bowl to Bowser, who sipped some soup from his spoon. Peach's smile grew and only kept growing, "I would love that!"

Her response surprised Bowser. He tensed up and slightly choked on the soup. After a second or two, he began coughing and grabbed his napkin. He wiped his mouth with the napkin, having coughed up what he was choking on. Panting hard, Bowser asked quietly, "…Come again?"

"I think that a ball, just for the two of us, would be fun!" Peach continued smiling, seemingly liking the idea the more she thought about it, "Oh! We could have a nice dinner beforehand too! I'll get all dressed up, and you could too!"

"Oh, of course…" Bowser said. He looked around the room, shifting his gaze from one object to the next anxiously, "Um, two weeks from tonight, we'll have a ball."

"What the Master means is three days," Red suddenly interjected from near the kitchen doorway, "Because he does not age, on account of the curse, he's lost his sense of time."

Bowser seemed almost offended by Red's comments. However, before he could correct his servant, Peach grinned, still beaming, "Even better."

* * *

"This is devastating! I try to make a joke, and I get roped into this… This travesty!" Bowser exclaimed in his chamber twenty minutes later. As he put his hand down and leaned on the pedestal with the fire flower, Goombs looked at Lemmy. Simply, neither knew what to say; what should be a major victory for them seemed to be the opposite because of Bowser.

"Sir, I don't understand," Goombs said after a few seconds, "This is not a bad situation; you have an opportunity to break the curse. Just tell her how you feel."

"I'm not sure of you know this, Goombs, but there is a subtle difference between a having a crush and falling in love!" Bowser snapped, sarcasm in his tone, "I'm not falling in love—"

"So, why are you making such a big deal about this?" Lemmy asked.

Bowser sighed and looked at him. He was stumped and embarrassed; he thought that, when it came time to dance, he'd make an absolute fool of himself. Playing piano as a monster was one thing, but dancing? Especially a dance as intimate and close as _the waltz_?

"I mean, it will be far from an ideal time to tell her I love her, **which I don't** ," Bowser stated, emphasizing the tail-end of the sentence, "We would have just finished dancing a dance that I can't even do anymore; imagine a scene so unpleasant."

"Stop being so damn negative," Goombs asserted, "Excuse my aggression, but you know that we don't have the time. You have to do it, Sir."

"I could do it, but nothing will happen," Bowser explained.

* * *

After Peach entered her room, she closed the door and could not stop smiling. This was actually happening; she would have a nice dinner with Bowser, then they would share a waltz in the ballroom. What would happen afterwards, she thought to herself as she dove on her bed. Maybe, in some world, she was the girl who was destined to break the curse. It could not be this world, however. She reminded herself that she was only here to help Bowser out of pity, and until the Mario Brothers arrived. When she was gone, this strange part of her life would be over.

But, when Bowser finds the girl, she would obviously be at the wedding, Peach thought. Her mind continued down this path of what would happen in the hopefully near future. And, after Bowser was human again, the Kingdoms of the Mushroom and Koopa would finally be at peace. Luigi would not have to adventure anymore, and Mario could change. Without his adventure, he would probably lose that "Player One" aesthetic. Maybe, after that happened, they could start getting to know each other. Who knows, maybe she then would accept that marriage proposal that somehow started all of this. During their reign, Peach could show Mario who Bowser truly is and, maybe, they could put this petty rivalry aside. _Maybe…_

* * *

Becoming slightly claustrophobic from the castle's walls, Peach stepped outside. Since her arrival weeks ago, the Koopa Kingdom had experienced few days as sunny and warm as this one. So, because of her claustrophobia, she decided to go outside for some prolonged time of fresh air. Peach walked along the paths beside the lackluster gardens or dirt and leafless trees. When she reached a courtyard, about one hundred yards away from the castle, she saw Bowser sitting on a bench with a book his hand. He seemed to be reading it very closely and, when Peach approached him, he put his finger in the middle of the page and closed it.

"What are you reading?" Peach asked.

"A book recounting a battle in the Second Mushroom War," Bowser told, looking down at the hard cover of the book, "You know, explosions, violence, guns… Lots of _manly stuff_."

"Okay, it's not all just for men," Peach responded, sitting next to the large koopa, "I know all about the second war. Which battle is it? Battle of Donut Plains? The Siege of Dinosaur Island? Or is it on the tactics? Like the Toadstool-Kong Line that served as the backbone of the Mushroom Kingdom forces?"

"It's about the Battle of Desert Land," Bowser admitted, rather impressed with Peach's knowledge, "I like to read about the war heroes and battles altered and shaped history. You enjoy reading this stuff too then?"

"I hate violence," Peach shook her head, "But, I'd be a fool not to read and learn about it. Without knowing the history of my people, I'd make an awful ruler. Plus, the violence and gore aside, the stories make for pretty good literature."

As they looked up at the cloudless blue sky, Bowser shifted his gaze over at Peach. He thought about everything that Goombs, Red, and Lemmy had told him. Maybe they were right; maybe this was the girl that would break the curse. Maybe she was not, like Bowser had been believing, or making himself believe, but maybe he did not have the time to find another girl. If he couldn't love her, then who?

"You know, ever since you learned about who I actually am, we've bonded over just about everything," he commented as Peach continued looking at the sky, "Weird, isn't it?"

For a second, Peach thought about it—evident from the look on her face. After her brief thought, she nodded, "Now that you mention it, I've found out that I have more in common with you than anybody else I've met before."

"It's strange, really," Bowser said. He muttered to himself, "It's been so long since I've had somebody in my life like this…"

"Like what?" Peach asked after hearing Bowser's murmur.

"A friend."

* * *

"Just set up the tent over there. I need to sit down," Daisy sighed while taking a seat on a rotting tree stump. As she tightened her fur-interior coat, Luigi began setting up their tent on the permafrost ground.

"At least set up a fire. The sun's already down, and it's only to get colder than it already is," Luigi suggested, shivering under his own coat.

Daisy rolled her eyes and grabbed some stones and sticks. As she began constructing a generously-sized fire pit, she said, "I still can't believe that cannon actually worked."

"Neither can I," Luigi replied, slightly annoyed, "I also can't believe that it sent half of our supplies into the Forest of Illusions. Oh well, I guess that's what we get for traveling via an experimental cannon."

"Enough sass, Luigi. We're here, and we're alive, are we not? Toughen up and build the damn tent," Daisy responded, also agitated. As she began working on the fire, she asked, "Do you know what's gotten into your brother? I never thought he was… Crazy."

"He's not _crazy_ , per se, he's just in love with a woman who doesn't love him back," Luigi explained, almost in denial, "We've all been there. I just hope we can save Peach before Mario does something he'll regret."

"Like declare a war that he doesn't have the funds nor supplies to fight?"

By the time Daisy got a fire going, Luigi finished building their tent. As Daisy warmed herself by the fire, Luigi took out a small pot and some canned soup. As he placed both on the ground and reached for his bag, something moved in the bushes to their left. Both Daisy and Luigi stopped suddenly and stared at the pushes. When Daisy looked at Luigi, he quickly reached for his bag and took out a can-opener.

"You check it out; I'm busy," Luigi said quietly and quickly.

Daisy chuckled slightly, "You're lucky that I think it's cute when you're scared."

"I'm not scared!" he hushed, "I'm just a little spooked."

As Luigi worked on opening the can, he hid behind it as much as possible. Daisy slowly walked towards the bush but quickly noticed that there was an old, hooded figure lurking. Soon, Daisy saw that it was an old woman, probably homeless. Daisy sighed in relief and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, are you lost?"

A few minutes later, the old woman was seated next to Luigi. Although her hood was still on, Luigi saw her face, and it nearly made him sick; it was a wrinkled pale face that looked like a hybrid between a koopa and a human. Although the eyes and mouth were human, it had the snot of a koopa, a hunched back that looked like a shell, and one of her eyes was plain white. The old woman ate silently minding her own, yet Luigi still stared at her with a horrified expression. And, when Daisy saw Luigi, she cleared her throat.

Luigi's face shot towards Daisy, who had a wooden bowl on her lap. She said, "Luigi, it's rude to stare."

Luigi stuttered, eventually getting words out, "I'm sorry… She's just so…"

"Luigi! Stop acting like a child!" Daisy snapped, offended for the old woman, "Looks can be deceiving; true beauty comes from within."

A second later, the old woman spoke, in a quiet, weak voice, "It is true. Haven't you ever heard of the tragedy of the Prince of the Koopas, who got turned into a monster?"

"It's barely a story," the plumber said, still looking down at his bowl and refusing to look at the woman next to him, "I've heard it so many times; a vain prince in a fictional Koopa Kingdom refused to let an old woman stay the night because she was ugly. Then, she turned into a smoking hot enchantress and cursed him, and his kingdom, until the Prince could learn to love and look past appearance. It's such a cliché story, like any other fable really."

"Just because it's cliché doesn't mean it's not true," Daisy interjected quickly before blowing warm air into her hands. Afterwards, she turned to the old woman and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

"The story may not be _true_ , but that does not mean it's _True_ ," the old woman replied mysteriously.

Now, Luigi was forced to look up and stare at the old woman again. This time, however, it was a look of confusion, "What does that mean? All you did was put more emphasis on the second "true"."

Within a second, the old woman burst into a bright white light that temporarily blinded both Daisy and Luigi. After a few seconds, Daisy and Luigi moved their hands from their eyes and saw that the old woman was gone, along with their bags.

"Oh my god," Luigi muttered, rushing over to where the bags were, "She took our bags… That was half of our food!"

"Oh crap…" Daisy cussed under her breath.

"Whatever," Luigi shrugged, trying to play down the situation, "We don't need much more food; the Koopa Kingdom's a day away, maybe less."

"Yeah," Daisy nodded. She began chuckling to herself lightly. When Luigi looked at her and asked why she was laughing, she responded, "Maybe when we get to the castle, Bowser'll feed us, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe," Luigi laughed back, "If we're talking about the make-believe, maybe Bowser and Peach will be having a nice little dance together before sharing a lovely, long-overdue kiss under the moonlight."

Daisy chuckled with Luigi as the fire crackled under her palm, "Can you imagine?"


	7. The Ball

Bowser walked down the stairs into his foyer; today was the day of his little ball with Peach. Although he dreaded it in the days leading up to it, he felt slightly better about it as he walked into the dining room for breakfast. When he sat down at the table, he heard Red come a few seconds behind him. Bowser rolled his eyes and groaned; he knew that Red was extremely excited about the ball and did not want to deal with his giddiness. At least, not until later in the day.

"Good morning, Sir," Red greeted, still behind Bowser, "Excited for tonight, I hope?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say _excited_ … Perhaps _anxious_ is a better word for it," Bowser muttered while Wendy placed his breakfast onto the table, "Thank you, Wendy."

Before Bowser could begin eating, Red placed a large, white leather bag on the table. Red opened it; inside the bag was a large blue tuxedo jacket. It looked as if it would fit Bowser perfectly, if not for his massive green shell. "Well, what do you think?" Red asked.

"It looks great, Red… Just the style I like, but we have a problem," Bowser replied, moving his head slightly with parted lips, "There's this thing on my back, you know. It kind of prevents me from being able to wear the jacket."

"Don't worry," Red assured confidently, "We'll make it work, Sir."

Wendy looked at Bowser, who still studied the jacket, trying to think of ways he would put it on. Entertained by Bowser's unsure expressions, Wendy giggled, "For what it's worth, I think it'll make you look good."

"I do to, but we still have to figure out how the hell I'm going to get it on," Bowser sighed. A few seconds later, he gave up, "I'll leave that to you and Goombs, Red. Is the ballroom ready for tonight?"

"Goombs led a three-day cleaning job; it looks brand new," Red nodded. He pulled up a chair next to Bowser and smiled, "This is the night, Sir."

Bowser leaned back in his chair, letting out a heavy, overly-annoyed sigh, "For the last time—"

"You really need to stop denying it. We all could tell now. It may have taken some of us longer than others to see it, but it's so obvious now," Wendy interrupted from the kitchen doorway.

"What's obvious?" Bowser asked, seemingly refusing to acknowledge whatever Wendy meant.

"We're not going spell it out for you, Sir," Wendy shook her head, cracking a smile. Before she headed back into the kitchen, she said, "Now, eat up; today's a big day for all of us, Bowser."

* * *

In Peach's room some hours later, Peach, who still wore her pajamas, stood in front of her big bed. On her bed was her regular pink dress laid out on top of her made blankets. She wanted to look nice for the night, but she felt like her dress was not right for the occasion; it was obviously a nice, elegant dress, yet she wore it nearly every day. To her, the pink dress had lost most of it's elegance and charm. As she tried to brainstorm of what to do, the door opened. She looked at the door and saw Lemmy walking into the room with a large, white leather bag.

"Excuse me Princess, I have something for you," Lemmy said as he approached the bed.

"What is that?" Peach asked when Lemmy carefully laid the bag on the bed next to her dress. Lemmy motioned her to open it and, when she did, she saw another dress inside. This dress was beautiful, nicer than anything she ever owned before.

"Where did you get this?" she asked in a joyful, upbeat tone.

After a second of thinking, Lemmy cleared his throat and said, "The master, Bowser, ordered it for you. He knew that you obviously didn't have anything that you could wear, so he wanted to get you something nice."

"Well, tell him that I love it. It's absolutely beautiful," Peach smiled, covering her mouth with her left hand. Lemmy nodded and showed himself out of Peach's room. When Lemmy was gone, Peach quickly walked over to her bed, and took the dress out to fully see it.

* * *

It was only an hour before their night was to begin now. Bowser sat in his chamber as a few Koopas brushed his teeth, trimmed his claws—both on his hands and feet—and washed his face. Red and Goombs both enjoyed seeing Bowser squirm and wince around awkwardly as his servants worked on him; clearly, Bowser did not like being put in this situation. And, when a Koopa stood on top of a Goomba in order to wash his hair, Bowser had enough.

"I could do this all myself, you know!" Bowser loudly groaned in frustration, "I don't understand why you're having others do all of this for me when I'm fully capable of doing this myself."

"Well, we don't trust you, Sir," Goombs replied with some wit, "It's not that we don't think you could do it on your own, but…"

"But what?" asked Bowser, becoming more and more defensive with the passing seconds.

"You… You just haven't had to do _this_ in a long time; the showmanship, the hair, the nails, the clothes, you know…" Red answered, sharing a silent chuckle with Goombs. When all the servants were finished, Bowser looked clean: his face polished, teeth white, and his body fresh. Satisfied, Red turned his head towards the doorway and snapped his fingers, "Now, the tuxedo."

"I don't see how you're going to do this," Bowser shook his head as he put his arms out. He continued, not looking at Red nor Goombs, who both stood behind him, "Seriously, you forgot to consider the fact that I have a massive shell on my back—did I mention that there are _spikes_ on it? I didn't see a hole in the back of the jacket or shirt that I could slide—"

Suddenly, Bowser felt the jacket come onto him; it was extremely well-fitted to his torso and arms—not too tight nor too loose. His eyes widened, and he asked, "What the hell did you just do, Red?"

"See for yourself, Sir," Red said, triumphantly. Bowser walked quickly to a mirror to his left. There, he saw the tuxedo on his body: a pressed, white collared shirt with a golden bowtie, matching beaming golden vest underneath an extremely well-fitted royal blue jacket. He turned to see his back, noticing that Red had somehow got the entire outfit around and under his shell. Because it only took a few seconds to do, Bowser was astonished, confused, and subtly impressed.

"How did…?" Bowser muttered.

"Does it matter, Sir?" Red smiled, "It's about time that you go meet your date. She's ready for you."

Bowser nodded and straightened up. He walked down the hallway, slightly tugging the golden boarders on the lapels of his jacket just to make sure that he was not dreaming. When he got to the foyer, he waited for the Princess. After about a minute, he saw Peach for the first time all day. Wendy and Lemmy had done an absolutely wonderful job with her. The new dress was awe-striking; it was a strapless white (with subtly hints of pink) gown that had a fluffy overskirt. Her eyes were outlined by smoky eyeshadow, which only added to the glow of her face. To Bowser, it seemed that she had spent just as much time preparing for this dinner and dance as he, if not more. However, Bowser did not want it to become a night of romance; they were just throwing themselves a ball for _fun_ after all…

As Peach walked down the stairs to meet Bowser in the foyer, he closed his eyes to collect himself momentarily. He often described Peach as the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on, but there was something different about tonight. Although he felt this stark contrast from the nights before, he could not tell what was causing it. Bowser opened his eyes after a few seconds and saw Peach smiling directly in front of him. Bowser now noticed she had pink lipstick on as well; she looked even more stunning up close.

Now remembering what Peach had taught him, Bowser bowed before Peach. In response, Peach curtsied, grabbing the puffy bottom of her dress and lifting it slightly to do so. When they both stood back up, Bowser nervously offered his right hand to Peach. The Princess could tell that Bowser was nervous, but she was nervous as well. The only difference between them was that she was doing her best to hide it. However, both of their nerves eased as soon as they touched hands.

They entered the dining room, which was only dimly lit by the candles on top of the table. Though the room called for a close, intimate atmosphere and mood, neither Peach nor Bowser were fully immersed in it; after Bowser pulled Peach's chair from the table, and pushed it back in, he walked to the opposite end of the large table. When he sat down and sipped from his cup, Peach looked slightly disappointed. And, while Wendy put out their first course, she spoke up, "Why are you sitting all the way down there tonight? You haven't sat there in weeks."

"It is supposed to be a _formal_ occasion tonight, I thought," Bowser explained lightly and matter-of-factly. He unbuttoned his jacket carefully while leaning back into the chair, "Isn't this, you know, proper mannerisms for formal occasions?"

"Well, it is. But…" Peach sighed, trying to think of an excuse.

"But what?"

Finally, Peach gave up, evident from the way she sighed and then smiled afterward. She looked down briefly and looked back up with a certain kind of smirk on her face, one that Bowser had never seen before. Before Bowser could say something, Peach stood up, "Forget dinner for now; let's go."

Surprised by Peach's confident, clear voice, Bowser found himself at a loss of words. He finally managed to get out, as the Princess strode across the room, "Go where?"

"The Ballroom!" Peach exclaimed excitedly, "Where else are we to go this evening?"

"But, what about the food?" Bowser asked, perhaps overthinking the current circumstances, "I thought we were supposed to have dinner _first_ , then we would go—"

"Forget all of that for now," Peach interrupted, almost begging, "I want to dance with you, and I don't want to wait any longer."

Peach grabbed Bowser's hand and sweetly caressed it. Although he was reluctant to dance, Bowser suddenly felt calmer when Peach glided her hand along his, interlocking their fingers. Eagerly, Peach led him across the foyer towards the ballroom.

The ballroom was almost as large as the library, if the books and shelves had been taken out. The walls and ground were marble, glowing vibrantly under the lit chandelier. Slightly in front of the walls were white pillars laced with gold that led all the way to the ceiling, which seemed to reach the sky. The wall opposite of the door was entirely comprised of glass, with a small glass door that led to a stone patio. Unlike the dim dining room, the ballroom was bright.

When Bowser looked around as Peach scurried across the polished floor, he saw Goombs sleeping on the piano, Ludwig, slightly aside from one of the pillars to the left. Not expecting them to start dancing until after their meal, Goombs jumped up. Luckily, Peach did not notice him, and Goombs was able to hide behind the piano before he completely ruined the mood of the night thus far.

Peach walked to the center of the ballroom and stood on the large stain-glass green shell designed onto the floor. It almost seemed like she jumped in joy, anticipating Bowser's arrival. After what seemed like hours to her, Bowser met her on the shell, bowing upon his arrival. Once more, Peach curtsied in response, her face beaming. As Ludwig began to play a slower, more romantic song, Peach presented her hands to Bowser. Bowser took them cautiously and, when he took them, Peach stepped to the side then back in front of Bowser, initiating the dance. Quickly, Bowser followed her lead, placing a hand on her back as she placed one of her own on his shoulder.

After the first few seconds, where Bowser looked down at his feet to make sure he was not stepping on Peach's toes, Peach spoke up, "Squeeze me tighter; you're barely holding onto me."

"I'm afraid of hurting you," Bowser responded, now looking at the Princess, "With somebody of my size, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Sometimes, it's worth taking the risk," she responded quickly. Gradually, Bowser obliged and, when he felt like he had satisfied her, their dance moved along much more smoothly.

They smoothly glided across the polished floor, moving as one. The light of the chandelier struck Peach in such a way that intensified her beauty. Never in his life had Bowser seen somebody so stunning and majestic. Before the curse—those many dreaded years ago—he met with, and danced with, many gorgeous women. But, all those experiences felt like nothing compared to what he was feeling as he held Peach in his hands, leading her through a dance he had not danced in over a decade, at the least. When Bowser dipped Peach, he blocked the light from hitting her, only seeing her face beneath him in his shadow; her blue eyes and entire face glowed in the darkness of Bowser's shadow.

After Peach came back to her feet, she saw Bowser move smoothly to begin their dance again. As they stepped, seemingly knowing what each other were thinking, Peach tucked her head against Bowser's torso tenderly. Bowser, though pleasantly surprised, went along with it. Peach kept telling herself that she was only still here to _help_ Bowser out of pity. It initially started off like that, but Peach began doubting her previous thoughts about her intention of staying; she was his first genuine friend in years or, more likely, his life. When Bowser said that, a different feeling arose inside of her. Sure, there was something there in their relationship, but they were _friends_ now (Bowser said it himself) and nothing more… Or, were they? When Bowser had made a joke about having a ball just for the two of them, Peach knew immediately that it was a joke but jumped at the chance anyway. She _wanted_ this night to play out exactly like this, but for what reason?

After Bowser spun Peach around once again, he stopped dancing and turned towards the patio, presenting his left arm to Peach. Peach took it and they walked together.

When they got outside, Bowser leaned against the railing as Peach admired the night sky; it was a clear night with no clouds in the sky, only the stars. Slightly tired out, Bowser panted, "I haven't danced like _that_ in forever…"

"It seemed like an eternity… In a good way," Peach replied with a half-smile, still staring at the sky, "I could dance forever if every night were as magical as this one."

"Magical? Well, I told you I know how to throw a good party… Even if it's just for two," Bowser nodded, adopting a bit of that cheekiness from Peach. As she giggled, Bowser looked out into the distance, at the stars. A few seconds later, he turned back and asked, "Do you think the Mario Bros will get here before the girl does?"

"I hope not," Peach quickly answered, "They're still probably a few weeks off; the girl has to be close. I know she is."

The koopa solemnly nodded, "I've already waited this long; what's a few more days going to do to me?"

Suddenly, they heard somebody burst through the door behind them. After turning quickly, they saw Luigi and Daisy, both looking extremely exhausted and dirty, sprinting towards Peach. Both Bowser and Peach drew back, surprised to see Daisy and Luigi, not _Mario_ and Luigi _._ Quickly, Daisy grabbed Peach and hugged her as Luigi threw the bag off his shoulders. As Daisy held a confused Peach in her arms, Luigi raised his fists.

"Oh my goodness! Thank god you're okay!" Daisy cried loudly, embracing Peach as hard as she could.

"Too tight! Too tight!" Peach shouted, trying to squirm around to break free.

"Sorry, it's her first time," Luigi said aside. Turning back to an extremely confused Bowser, Luigi snapped, "You couldn't keep yourself under control, huh, Bowser? We _just_ got back from a long adventure, tired and weary. Then, literally the next day, you send a Koopa Kid to kidnap Princess Peach!? How low have you gone!?"

"Everybody, STOP!" Peach shouted as loud as she could. Both Luigi and Daisy stopped and straighten back up. It was at this time that Luigi saw Peach wearing a lovely gown and Bowser wearing large, well-fit tuxedo. Now, he was confused and, when Daisy saw the same thing, she was confused.

"We'll explain everything," Peach assured, looking at Bowser, who was still trying to process what had just happened, "Lemmy acted on his own; it wasn't Bowser who had me kidnapped this time."

"Doubt it," Daisy shook her head, staring at Bowser menacingly.

"No, seriously," Peach responded quickly and defensively, "Look, Bowser was just depressed; I figured that, since I'm here until Mario rescues me anyways, I'd stick around and help Bowser learn how to court a bride."

Luigi, like Daisy, shook his head. Once he turned away from Bowser, he got close to Peach, "Princess, what are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that I'm fine… Everything is fine," Peach explained once more as clear as she could possibly be, "You are here now, so I guess I'm free to go," she suddenly became quiet and looked down. Bowser looked over at Peach, who looked as if she had just witnessed something horrific; her face practically drained of colour and emotion in the seconds that Bowser watched her.

"I've been here before. I know it's not that easy," Luigi said, becoming more authoritative as he turned back to Bowser. Luigi cracked his knuckles and wiped the bottom of his shoes to get more friction, "Mario and I fight Bowser all the time! You're his prisoner, remember?"

"No," Bowser suddenly said. The two princesses looked at Bowser, who straightened his back and closed his eyes. He cleared his throat and showed a stern, tough face, "She's not my prisoner… Not anymore."

"What are you saying?" Luigi asked, lowering his fists.

"I'm saying that you're free to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom," Bowser said, "Go. You never have to worry about me again."

"Okay…" Luigi responded, squinting his eyes in suspicion. Slowly, Luigi backed away from the koopa and faced Peach, "We have to get back to Mushroom City now. Mario overthrew Toadsworth and declared himself King."

The sad expression on Peach's face suddenly mixed with a look of horror. She drew back, "He… Did… What?"

"Toadsworth is rotting in a jail cell right now on charges of treason," Daisy explained quickly, "If we're lucky, we'll make it back in time and catch him in the trial. But, we'll have to move quickly."

"No need to," Bowser spoke up again, "Take my clown cart. I'll have the biggest and fastest one prepared for you to leave as soon as possible. You have to get there as fast as you can; no time to waste."

Again, Luigi turned back to Bowser with confusion, "Why the hell are you helping us?"

"It's the least I could do," Bowser smiled hopelessly at Peach. Peach smiled back, her eyes becoming more and more watery as Daisy and Luigi ran inside.

"Princess! We have to go NOW!" Luigi yelled from the doorway.

"Thank you…" Peach muttered before joining the other two.

After Peach left, Bowser sighed; he was relieved to show his true emotion, but he was also devastated. As he walked into the ballroom, Wendy, Red and Lemmy stopped whispering with each other and watched Bowser sadly mope through the room. All of them were crushed by what just happened but hesitated to question Bowser.

"Before you ask any questions, yes… I set her free," Bowser sighed, defeated.

"You had too…" Wendy responded, wiping tears from her eyes, "Because you _love_ her, don't you?"

Bowser did not respond to Wendy's question; he did not even look at any of his servants, just staring at the ground while his melancholy overtook across his face. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry I couldn't free all of you along with her… I'm sorry for failing you."

The saddened koopa walked up to his chamber. He entered the chamber as Peach, now wearing her regular dress, boarded the clown cart with Luigi and Daisy. Peach did not see him enter the room, and Bowser did not call to have a final goodbye. As they flew away, Bowser could do nothing except watch. He could not help but feel like his heart were ripped from his chest and, as Peach got further and further away, stomped on before his very eyes. There was nobody like her; nobody as funny, sweet, beautiful and alike him as she. Over these last few weeks, anytime he felt himself become vulnerable around her, he became more defensive and persistent. Now, he felt like a damned fool. Because he promised himself that he was not going to fall for her, anything beyond a little crush, he was blind; the mere thought of her was a knife in his side. The fire flower would go out very soon, and Bowser knew that. He would be doomed to be this hideous, monstrous beast until for eternity, ruling over a Kingdom of Nothing. Only now, as Peach left forever, did Bowser realize he was in love with her.


	8. Execution

To all their surprise, the clown cart moved with incredible pace across the night sky. What usually took about an hour of flying in a regular cart—the distance between Bowser's castle to Sherbert Land—took merely ten minutes. However, it was a painfully slow ten minutes; both Luigi and Daisy could not figure out what was wrong with Peach. Whenever Daisy or Luigi turned to check on the princess, she looked shattered. Neither one said anything to Peach despite feeling worried because, simply, they did not know what to say. As they entered the skies of Sherbert Land, crossing the border of the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom, Peach sighed and stood up. Daisy turned around to face Peach, only to see her looking back in the direction of the Koopa Kingdom.

"Peach, are you okay?" Daisy asked, "You've been really quiet."

When Peach did not move nor speak, Luigi said, "Well, can you at least tell us what happened to you while you were his prisoner this time? I mean, you looked..."

Again, Peach did not respond. She still looked behind them, back towards Bowser's castle. Luigi shared a look of worry with Daisy; Peach was still silent, angsty and distant. It was strange; Peach never acted this way before, and Luigi could not understand why this time was so different. After what seemed like ten more minutes of silence, the princess muttered, "I feel awful…"

Hoping to get something out of the princess, Daisy quickly responded, "Why? What's got you feeling down?"

"He does," Peach answered, pointing in the direction of the Koopa Kingdom, "I… I don't know why."

"Well, you have to forget about it for now," Daisy advised, approaching Peach slowly, "You have to talk some sense into Mario. If he starts a war with the Koopa Kingdom, people are going to die."

After Peach nodded slightly, still looking sorrowful and broken, she asked, "How did this happen?"

"It started with a coup," Daisy explained with a heavy breath, "Mario framed Toadsworth for treason and promptly had him arrested; he somehow linked that old guy to Bowser's kidnapping plots against you. After that, he proclaimed himself King of the Mushroom Kingdom. He's been driven mad, Peach; I don't like it at all."

"He's always been mad," Luigi muttered solemnly, looking down at the dark ground several hundreds of feet below them, "The only difference now is that he has _power_."

* * *

The clown cart finally reached skies above Peach's castle. By the time that they docked the cart on the red roof of the castle, it must have been close to midnight. Although most of the town should have been asleep, or in their houses, a mob of toads and toadettes roared in the streets with torches in their hands. Peach looked over the ledge of the roof and saw Mario, standing in the middle of the mob, wearing a white cape draped over his left shoulder and holding a mushroom-headed scepter. Beside him, on both sides, there were toads armed with spears, and, directly behind them, was Toadsworth in shackles. About twenty feet in front of them was a wooden stage with a guillotine in the center.

"Oh no…" Luigi gasped, horrified, "Mario… He didn't give him a trial."

"They're gonna kill—!" Daisy could not finish, absolutely disgusted and terrified. As she put her hands over her mouth, Peach darted towards the exit.

In the mob below, Mario walked up the steps and onto the wooden stage. He stood in front of the guillotine as the two toads forced Toadsworth towards the execution device. When Mario stood before the mob, they stopped their shouting and ruckus. Mario half-grinned and began his address.

"Tonight is a great night in the Mushroom Kingdom's history," Mario spoke clearly, "Tonight, we execute the first, and hopefully last, traitor under the rule of House Toadstool. The traitor, Toadsworth, has been getting away with injustice for far too long! Time after time, he has assisted Bowser in his heinous and wicked plans! And, time after time, he has covered his dirty tracks. Now, he will finally pay for his treacherous atrocities!"

Mario turned away, giving the mob a grand view of Toadsworth's head inside the guillotine. As the crowd became bloodthirsty and loud once more, Toadsworth closed his eyes gravely and tried to accept his fate. Before Mario gave the order, Toad ran up onto the stage and tugged at his arm, "Mario!" he whispered desperately, "You don't have to do this! Toadsworth is a good person; you didn't even give him a proper trial—"

"We don't have time for a _proper_ trial," Mario brushed off rather recklessly, "We're at war, Toad."

After he looked away from Toad, Mario looked at the executioner, a toad in a black tunic and cowl, and nodded his head once. The executioner cracked his knuckles and grabbed the lever on the side of the guillotine. Hysteria and chaos filled the chants from the mob as Toadsworth closed his eyes for, perhaps, the last time.

Suddenly, before the executioner pulled the lever down, a familiar high-pitched scream roared above the madness, "STOP!"

Mario quickly turned away from the guillotine and looked towards the crowd. There, in front of the astonished mob, stood Princess Peach. When Mario saw the infuriated expression on Peach's face, the colour drained from his own face, and he dropped his sceptre. In the silence that drew over the crowd, the princess stormed up to the stage and met Mario just to the right of the guillotine.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Peach shouted.

Mario cleared his throat and explained, "Well Princess, Toadsworth has been working as a spy for Bowser since… For a long time. How do you think Bowser has slipped through the Mushroom Kingdom unchallenged so many times?"

"That's simply not true, and you know that," Peach quickly shot down. She brushed Mario off and walked over to the executioner, "Let my advisor go right now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Majesty," the executioner replied regretfully, tapping his fingers together nervously, "I only take orders from the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"I AM THE RULER OF THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM!" Peach snapped, her rage showing, "AND I AM ORDERING YOU TO LET THIS INNOCENT MAN GO!"

"Um… I…" the executioner stammered, extremely confused.

To the executioner's relief, Mario quickly interjected, "Do not let him go just yet! I need to talk with the Princess."

Annoyed and frustrated, Peach turned back to Mario and agreed, "Yes, we do need to talk; you have some explaining to do."

"You first; how did you break out of the Koopa Kingdom?" Mario asked curiously, "You look fresh and all did-up with make-up. For what reason? Did you want to look good and presentable while breaking out of Bowser's dungeon?"

"I didn't break out," Peach said back, "Luigi and Daisy came to save me, but Bowser let me go."

Scoffing at the thought of Bowser being sympathetic, Mario shook his head, "Don't lie, Peach. How were you able to outsmart that monstrous idiot? Throw a bob-omb at him, huh?"

"He's not a monster!" Peach roared back nearly instinctively. Mario drew back, surprised and offended at the response, as Princess Peach collected herself momentarily, "He's not the monster that you think he is; he's different, yeah, but he's actually really kind, considerate, misunderstood—"

Stepping away from Peach, Mario snapped, "Do you hear yourself right now?! Princess, you're talking about the same monster who has kidnapped you more times than anybody can count! Now you think he's the good guy!?"

"Believe me, he's not the monster that people like you make him out to be."

"He's _literally_ a monster! Hell, you can't be trusted either; I know Bowser, and, clearly, he hypnotized you. Toads, restrain the Princess and take Toadsworth out of the guillotine. This is worse than I thought."

Quickly, several toads holding spears ran onto the stage and surrounded Peach. Apologetically, they grabbed Peach's arms and attempted to restrain her. Initially, the princess fought them off, but there was simply too many. Eventually, she gave in. As a toad tightly held Peach's arms behind her back, restricting her movement, Mario looked at the mobs of toads, who somehow remained still and silent during that interaction.

"Now, the King of the Koopas has our Princess under his spell!" Mario proclaimed passionately, "We don't have a choice anymore… We're not safe until he's gone from our world, so we have to act now! I say we kill Bowser!"

The crowd began cheering and stomping their feet. Peach looked down, her face being partially lit by the flames in the mob. She could not believe what just happened; Mario was going to go over to the Koopa Kingdom with the intention of murdering Bowser. And, there was no way she could stop him. A few seconds later, after hearing somebody claim they saw a clown cart on the roof of the castle, Peach lost all hope; she let her body fall limp in defeat. Luigi and Daisy still watched from the castle roof, unable to process the events that just transpired. However, when Luigi saw Peach's broken expression and body language, he remembered her odd behavior during their journey over from the Koopa Kingdom; he figured out what was wrong with her.

* * *

In the office of the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario packed many power-ups into a small satchel; there was a fire flower, ice flower, tiny mushroom and cape feather to name a few. After he finished packing, Luigi entered the office and quickly said, "Mario, you don't have to do this. If you go over there alone, you'll get killed."

"That's why I'm bringing Four Good Men with me, Luigi," Mario responded quickly, "You, Toad, and the two more of the fiercest fighters in the Mushroom Army. Get some power-ups from the armory and meet me on the roof in ten minutes. We'll return at sunrise with Bowser's head _together_ ; history shall remember tonight and sing songs of out glory, Luigi."

"I can't go," Luigi said, shaking his head, "It's one thing to go on an adventure with you, but I can't just go with you if you're going to murder somebody—"

"Murder? Luigi, what are you talking about?" Mario interrupted, baffled, "You'd follow me anywhere before without question; why is tonight any different?"

Recovering on his feet, Luigi quickly continued, "If you had let me finish, I need to stay here and protect Mushroom City. Somebody has to make sure that those toads and toadettes from the mob don't tear the city apart; you riled them up pretty good, you know."

Mario nodded in understanding, "You're right… Thanks for seeing that, bro. What would I do without you?"

After Mario left for the roof, Luigi slipped out of the office and down the hallway. There were no guards around the castle because they were all outside on the streets. Mario's little speech about the would-be death of Bowser created widespread chaos and rioting in the areas and neighborhoods around the castle. As toads in riot-control gear left the main foyer and ran outside, Luigi ducked into a nearby corridor and saw Daisy anxiously waiting for him in front of a wooden door.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked, concerned.

"I am, but it's absolute chaos out there," Daisy answered with a kiss, "There were toads setting shops on fire… Some were destroying whole buildings, looting… It was awful, Luigi."

After Daisy opened the door, they ran down the stairs and into the cellar. In the dark room, which was only lit by a couple torches, they saw Peach sitting with her back in the corner and knees to her chest. Laying down a few feet from her was Toadsworth, who looked exhausted. As Peach muttered something, Luigi grabbed the key to the cell off the desk opposite of the cell and tossed it to Daisy. Once Daisy got the door open, Peach's muttering became much quieter. It seemed that the closer Daisy got to Peach, the quieter and quieter Peach became. When Daisy finally reached Peach, she became completely silent.

"I have to go back," Peach said nearly shaking, "Mario's going to kill him, Daisy."

"No, you have to get a hold of your people!" Daisy snapped while kneeling down, trying to get sense into her friend, "To hell with Bowser! You have a Kingdom to run! If you don't get these toads and toadettes in order—!"

"Let her go, Daisy," Luigi advised from behind them, "Can't you see what's really going on?"

"What are you talking about!? She can't go back to the Koopa Kingdom now! In an hour, Mushroom City's going to be completely burnt to the damn ground!"

Luigi slowly walked up to Daisy and caressed her shoulder caringly. Daisy did not say anything and just looked Luigi directly in his eyes, "Daisy, we don't have a lot of time; Mario took the fastest clown cart."

Suddenly, it clicked in Daisy's mind. Finally understanding, Daisy turned back to Peach and helped her stand up. As she hugged her friend tightly, Luigi went across the cell to Toadsworth and asked, "Are you going be okay getting these people back in order, Toadsworth?"

"I got it, I got it," Toadsworth mumbled stubbornly, slowly rising from the ground, "Give me twenty minutes to freshen up, and I'll have these people in line in no time."

"One more thing; where do we keep the clown carts that Mario and I use after our adventures?" Luigi requested.

Toadsworth thought for a second, then became disappointed, "I'm afraid we destroy them all, Luigi. You know, there is a lot of good metal on those carts that we can use on other things."

"Well, what about the last one we used? We only got back a few weeks ago; it can't be totally destroyed," Luigi asked quickly.

"Oh right!" Toadsworth remembered, "We were all so distracted from Peach's sudden kidnapping that I forgot to deal with that one. Well, that one's in the attic… I think? You're going to have to fill the tank up, though. I think that there might be some gasoline in the—"

"In the basement directly above us, yep!" Luigi interrupted, trying to rush now. He turned back to the princesses and told, "I'll start filling that one up, and we'll leave in a little bit, okay?"

"Luigi, it'll take us a day to get to the castle," Daisy contradicted matter-of-factly.

"No, it won't," Toadsworth spoke up as he hobbled out of the jail cell, "Go into the guest room that Mario uses… Well, used to use. There's a whole stock of Golden Mushrooms in there that he won from racing tournaments. Maybe if you put them into your fuel tank, you'll go faster."

"I don't think that's how they work," Daisy said doubtfully, "Gold isn't combustible—"

"We have to try it," Peach sighed almost hopelessly, "Let's go; if we want to get to the Koopa Kingdom in time, we have to start getting ready now."

* * *

As the darkness of the late night/extremely earlier morning hung over the castle, Red ran up to Bowser's chamber quickly. Goombs had just told him of a Hammer Bro's reports; the clown cart that Bowser gave Peach was coming back, but this time it was occupied by Mario and three toads. Red sprinted down the corridor and put his shoulder into the door to open it quickly. When he was inside Bowser's chamber, he saw Bowser surrounding the fire flower. The orange light coming off the flower was waning; it was going to die very soon.

"Sir, Mario's—!" Red began.

Instantaneously, Bowser interrupted him, "I know. Let him come, if you must. I have no purpose in this world anymore.

"But, sir—!"

"You heard me," Bowser once again interrupted, his voice somehow become more blank and emotionless than ever before.

Without arguing, Red left Bowser's chamber and sprinted through the corridor, down the stairs and into the foyer. In the dark foyer were Goombs, Lemmy, Wendy and several other servants to Bowser. Red extended both of his arms, which had become entirely bone.

"We have to hold out for as long as possible," Red said in a focused, determined voice, while he lowered them, "It's the last thing we can do for him."

"You heard him!" Goombs echoed in a booming voice, "Get that door barricaded!"

* * *

Just outside of the castle, the clown cart ran out of fuel and crashed into the gloomy courtyard. Mario, with a torch in his hand, ran to the large castle door, followed by three toads wearing leather armor and wielding spears. However, the door did not budge when Mario hit it with his shoulder; it must have been barricaded from the inside. The toads looked around for an alternate way inside while Mario looked straight at a balcony on the castle; he recognized that it was the balcony to Bowser's chamber.

"Work on a way to break the door down," Mario ordered, staring at the balcony above, "I'm going up."

"Mario…" Toad tried to say. However, he could not say anything meaningful in time; Mario had used a tanooki suit to fly to the balcony.

A few seconds later, Mario landed on the balcony of Bowser and reached into his bag for a fire flower. When he touched the flower, he felt the white hat and red overalls come over his body. Feeling the heat of his abilities rise his body temperature, Mario grinned devilishly and looked up. There, he saw Bowser glooming over his own dying flower on a pedestal. Bowser looked up sorrowfully and saw the face of the Italian plumber under the moonlight.

"It's time to end this once and for all," Mario said, summoning fire into his palm.


	9. Kill The Beast

The red plumber began advancing on the Koopa in the darkness of his chamber. By now, it was the early morning and the fire flower's death was close—perhaps too close. Although he saw the threat that Mario posed, Bowser did not move, neither to defend himself and engage Mario nor to run. Bowser simply stood up, hiding the painting behind his massive figure. When Mario got closer to Bowser, he readied a fireball in his other hand.

"I won't fight you," Bowser said, still standing tall, "You're wasting your time on me, you know."

"Well, if you're not going to fight me, then you're going to die," Mario threatened sharply. He expected this threat to get Bowser going and for their fight to begin. However, nothing happened; Bowser remained unmoved. Mario stopped, making the fire in his hands disappear, slightly surprised and glared at Bowser.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?!" Mario shouted.

"I heard you, but I'm still not going to fight you," Bowser replied with his chin up, "Just leave me alone."

"I'm afraid to tell you this," Mario said sarcastically, "but there's no way that both of us are walking away from this; one of us has to die. And, if you won't put up a fight, then you'll be the one."

* * *

"Maybe we can cut down a tree or something," one of the toads suggested as they sat around the courtyard of the castle in the dark, "Like, you know, use it as a battering-ram or something like that."

Toad shook his head and shouted loudly, "Oh, great idea, Frank! Too bad we're only carrying spears with us! God, why did I even agree to come here?"

The former toad, Frank, looked at the third toad with a look of confusion. However, before the third toad could say anything, Toad once again shouted, "Don't you say a goddamn word, Barnes! I don't want to hear it from you right now!"

The third toad, Barnes, shook his head, obviously annoyed by Toad's angry mood. As the three sat in silence, they heard noises from inside the castle. When they looked up towards the balcony, they saw Mario, clad in his white hat and red overalls, back up. And, when he had a fire ball in both of his hands, he charged into the room, presumably at Bowser. They could hear the sounds of a struggle in Bowser's chamber, but they did not move; now that they had some time away from the chaos in Mushroom City, the three reflected on the weeks leading up to this night. Clearly, something went off in Mario's head.

"Why did we even come here?" Toad questioned again, "It's not like we're fighting anybody! Maybe a few minutes ago I would've felt like fighting, but now? There's not a chance."

"I don't know what happened to Mario—um, His Majesty," Frank corrected almost sadly, "He was fine before he proposed to Peach. Well, he seemed fine to me, anyway..."

"Yeah, he seemed _fine_ to me too," Toad sighed longingly.

"Okay, enough," Barnes responded with an incredibly annoyed tone in his voice, "We get it; you're _hopelessly_ in love with Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and a man you'll never have! At least keep it to yourself for God's sake! At this point, your desperate public "cries for help" are nothing short of pathetic."

"You guys suck, especially you, Barnes," Toad groaned as he jabbed his spear into the cold dirt below, "Just let me complain."

"You certainly aren't complaining to us," Barnes called Toad out, "Before we could say anything, you always tell us to shut our mouths. So, who the hell are you complaining to?"

"TO NOBODY! It's called monologuing! Ever see a play, you uncultured, fungus-headed freak?" Toad snapped. Angrily, he stood up and looked over at the wooden door of the castle, "We should work on finding a way inside that poor excuse of a castle…"

Suddenly, they saw a clown cart come crashing down from the sky. Seeing that he was in the path of the cart, Toad quickly dove to the side and barely dodged the incoming hunk of metal. The cart impacted the ground and exploded, while the remains hurled into the door of the castle. The wooden door was destroyed as the cart landed in the foyer of Bowser's castle. Scared for his life, Toad sat up on the ground and saw the burning remains of the clown cart at the bottom of a large staircase. While looking at the door, Toad saw some of Bowser's servants, including Red, investigate the hunk of metal that destroyed their barricade. And, when Toad saw many half-bone Koopas, he crawled on his hands backwards in terror.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS!?" Toad shrieked, reaching for his spear. However, when he reached back and tugged at the first thing he touched, he felt a leg around his hand. He looked up behind him and saw Luigi standing there.

"You're not my spear," Toad muttered, still scared.

"Get up, Toad," Luigi said, shaking his head in disappointment, "You're going to be fine."

As Luigi helped Toad from the ground, Peach and Daisy came into the courtyard. Because they were forced to jump out of their clown cart before it crashed, they were panting and dirty. Peach ran up to Frank and Barnes and asked, "Quickly, now; where did Mario go!?"

"Up to that balcony, Your Majesty," Barnes told while he bowed in the presence of the princess, "He, um… He went to fight Bowser."

* * *

Mario had forced Bowser through the corridor, down into a room with many large windows and glass doors. The koopa backed up into the empty room in extreme pain. Unlike their battles before, Mario came out of the gate swinging with everything he had. Usually, he liked to tire Bowser out while pacing himself. Then, Mario usually tossed his exhausted combatant into a conveniently-placed explosive or cut the bridge they were fighting on. This time was different, however; now Mario came after Bowser with everything. Bowser raised his arm to block an ice ball from Mario. However, it was too strong. The ball, upon impact, temporarily enveloped Bowser's arm in an icicle and knocked him back onto a knee. As the exhausted Bowser knelt, Mario again changed his power-up (this time to the cape feather). It was unrelenting; first, Mario would hit him with fire, then ice, then fire, then another miscellaneous ability, then ice again…

"I've told you already; I'm not fighting you!" Bowser weakly exclaimed, using all of his remaining energy to yell, "Why can't you just leave me in peace?"

"As long as you're around, there will never be a peace," Mario responded, "Can't you see that? When my adventures are all-said-and-done, there's always fear about the next time that Bowser will attack the Mushroom Kingdom. How many times does someone have to get rejected to realize that they'll never experience love?"

"I don't know; you tell me," Bowser taunted before attacking Mario. However, Mario easily parried the defeated Bowser with the cape and countered with a powerful punch. Bowser was sent through the glass door, onto the roof and to a nearby bridge. As Bowser laid nearly unconscious, Mario walked through the broken glass and onto the roof. He faced the Koopa, who lay tiredly on his stomach on the bridge, and saw his chance.

As Mario walked out onto the bridge, Bowser looked up and saw the plumber's boots getting closer and closer to him. As he gave up entirely, he heard a voice from behind Mario call his name. His head shot up, and, in the hole in the wall, he saw Peach.

"Peach... She's... She's back..." Bowser muttered, hopeful.

Bowser rose, determined and looked at Mario, who approached him with the cape in his hand. From the sight of the princess, Bowser gained energy and hope; he now had something to fight for. When Mario charged him this time, Bowser charged back.

The two met near the area where Peach was. Never before had Peach seen Mario nor Bowser fight as hard as they fought on that bridge. Any attack Mario had up his sleeve, Bowser had a more powerful one. When Mario switched to an ice power-up, Bowser breathed an absurd amount of fire. And, as their fight raged on that small part of the bridge, Peach could see Bowser slowly gain the upper-hand.

The plumber parried an attack by Bowser, but Bowser scratched him in the side. As Mario hunched over, obviously hurt, Bowser smacked Mario back several feet. Getting rid of his cape, Mario used his final ice flower. Mario tried to launch several ice-balls at Bowser. However, Bowser breathed out a large fire ball—probably twice Mario's size— that not only melted the many ice-balls but caused a large explosion behind Mario. Mario flew forward several feet, landing close to Bowser. The koopa picked him up by the overalls and launched him in the opposite direction of the princess. Somehow, Mario jumped up quickly, incredibly hurt and tired from the fight. As Bowser slowly recovered and charged at him, Mario activated his last fire flower in hopes that it could give him momentum. As Bowser approached him, Mario hit him several times in the torso and face with various fireballs at various speeds. When Mario's attack was done, he collapsed onto his knees in exhaustion. It was at this time that Mario regretted his earlier aggressiveness. Before he could move, he saw the Bowser's feet in front of him.

An exhausted Mario looked up at Bowser. The face of the Koopa was covered in ash, burn marks, ice fragments and cuts, and his torso was also covered in many burn marks and ice fragments. Although he was as exhausted as, if not more than, Mario, it looked as if Bowser could keep on fighting for another hour or two.

"Well, you win," Mario panted, "If you'll kill me, kill me now."

Mario closed his eyes and relaxed his body. However, Bowser did not make a move to the plumber's surprise. When Mario looked up, Bowser snarled, showing the flames brewing inside of his mouth, "Get out of my kingdom."

Quickly, Mario got up and ran off the bridge in panic. When he was out of sight and into a new corridor of the castle, he saw an axe.

Peach met an exhausted Bowser at the very edge of the bridge he stood on. She quickly ran up to him and hugged him tightly. Bowser embraced her back and held her for a few moments. When he let go, Peach backed up, so Bowser would not have to look all the way down at her. Through his exhaustion and pain, he managed to crack a small, glowing smile, "Why did you come back?"

Peach, also smiling, spoke softly, "I couldn't let Mario kill you… I'm sorry I ever left."

"Sorry? Why would you be sorry?" Bowser asked, "You were my prisoner."

"I _wasn't_ your prisoner," Peach corrected, looking down bashfully, "Technically, I was your prisoner, but, at the same time, I've never felt freer in my entire life… It's an odd feeling, I can't really describe it…"

"Don't worry, I understand—"

Suddenly, they heard somebody swing an axe on the other side of the bridge. Bowser turned and saw Mario valiantly holding it over his shoulder. The bridge under Bowser quickly collapsed. Quickly, the koopa turned back to Peach and looked at her as if it were his last time. Mere seconds later, the entire bridge was gone, and Bowser was falling to the hard ground below.

* * *

Peach had traced the area where Bowser landed. When she got there, to the ground between a courtyard and the exit of the library, she only saw dust in the air. When she stepped through the dust, she saw the figure of Bowser's shell. As fast as she could, she sprinted up to it with tears beginning to fill her eyes. Because she was in her own head, she could not hear Daisy, Luigi, Toad, Red, Goombs nor Mario calling her name. In the rubble, she saw Bowser lying with both eyes closed. The princess knelt down and caressed his head as the dust cleared. Everybody at the castle, who had followed her during her frantic sprint, saw her weeping for the fallen koopa. Nobody said anything, however; they just stared in bizarre astonishment at the scene.

"Peach… Is that… Is that you?" Bowser weakly muttered, opening his eyes ever so slightly with all his strength.

"Yes… Yes, I'm here…" Peach responded softly, "I… I should've gotten here sooner…"

Under her arms, she felt Bowser becoming increasingly weaker. This feeling only made her squeeze him tighter, trying to cling onto anything he had left. As she tried harder and harder to feel the life in Bowser, tears began finding their way down her cheeks. "It's going to be okay," Peach muttered, her voice softer than before, "We're back together again; you'll be okay… You're going to survive this."

"Maybe it's better this way," Bowser said, his voice breaking and fading, "Maybe now, everything for you will go back to the way it used to be."

"Don't say that… Please, don't say things like that… You're going to be okay… I can help you get better."

"There's nothing that can be done now, Princess."

"You can't say that… Please stop saying that… I can't take it."

As the dark sky slightly became lighter and twilight, Bowser muttered, "At least… I got to see you one more time…"

"No! Please don't go…" Peach cried as she felt Bowser's body become entirely limp. She clutched his lifeless head as tight as she could. Tears rolled down her face, but Peach did not become hysterical. She merely muttered, as dawn broke over the castle, "I… I love you…"


	10. Tale as Old as Time

"I… I love you, Bowser… You can't go... Not now..." Peach kept crying quietly, still hugging Bowser's unresponsive body.

As the Princess continued to weep, Mario looked around. Although he was feeling victorious for his final victory over Bowser, he was confused as well. He asked himself why Princess Peach mourned the death of Bowser instead of thanking him for saving her (again). Mario noticed that nobody else looked away from the Princess. Were they supposed to comfort her? Comfort her for mourning the loss of the monster that made many unsuccessful attempts at marrying her? To them, it was perhaps the strangest, yet also saddest, thing they had ever seen. To Bowser's servants, however, found the moment to be bittersweet. Finally, after all this time and all the years of isolation and hopelessness, Bowser learned how to love another (and earn their love in return). But, there were two glaring problems with the situation: Peach only revealed her love too late, and Bowser had been killed by Mario.

Their confusion was interrupted by a hooded figure, who entered the crowd of confused, slightly depressed individuals. In her hands was the fire flower in the jar, on the brink of dying. When Peach heard everybody shift suddenly and turn around, she looked up with her wet eyes. There, she saw the hooded figure holding the glass jar.

"Oh god, not _you_ again!" Luigi gagged at the mere sight of the hooded person, remembering her as the old crazy homeless wanderer who stole he and Daisy's food a few nights previous.

Red quickly shot an astonished look at Luigi, "How do you know this woman?" he asked.

Luigi rolled his eyes and nearly gagged again, "It's the old crazy lady, who Princess Daisy so politely asked to dine with us a few nights ago in Sherbert Land. This lunatic stole our food!"

"Be more respectful, Sir!" Goombs snapped suddenly, "It's not just some homeless woman; she's…"

"She's who?" Luigi asked as Goombs hesitated.

Goombs' hesitation was caused by an epiphany; even though Bowser was dead, and the fire flower was going to die any second, his transformation stopped. It seemed that Red also had this epiphany, because the Koopa immediately looked down at his arms; even an hour earlier, his entire body was becoming bone at an alarming rate. Now, it stopped at the top of his shoulder. And, as if a miracle had just been performed, he became filled with hope.

The hooded woman approached Bowser's body, which still had Peach caressing it. The hooded woman paused for a second as the fire flower gradually became erect. When it was fully erect, as if it were completely healthy again, the colors began restoring again. The jar suddenly shattered due the heat of the flower, and Peach quickly stood up and moved. They all watched as the hooded woman slowly closed her fist, causing the glass shards, and the flower itself, to levitate in the air. Before their very eyes, the fire flower and shards became one bright light that quickly enveloped Bowser's body. Upon contact with Bowser's shell, the light became so bright that everybody was blinded, except for the hooded woman.

After a few seconds, Peach gradually opened her eyes, squinting in attempt to see what was happening. In front of her, Peach saw Bowser's body, now wrapped in a white cloth, spinning around in the air extremely slowly. She saw his ridiculously big hands become smaller and human-like, then his feet. By the time she looked up at his head, the rest of his body was completely hidden under the white cloth. His face, starting with his forehead, morphed and glowed, making Peach close her eyes once more. After a few more seconds, everybody opened their eyes; the hooded woman had disappeared, but somebody else took her spot. This person lay on the cement, covered in a silk cloth. Nearly immediately, he rose; this man easily towered over most of everybody else, probably standing at 6'4, with his long red hair putting him at close to 6'6. On his body was a very loose fitting white tunic, which somehow showed off his thick, athletic figure, and a pair of brown trousers. His back was towards the crowd, keeping his identity a secret for a few moments longer, but, when he turned around, they saw that the mysterious figure looked like a prince.

"Peach, it's me," the prince said, slowly stepping close to Peach while everybody else withdrew, utterly astonished.

Those soft-spoken words suddenly hit Peach. She immediately looked at his eyes, his red eyes, and realized that the princes was Bowser. Without anymore words, she nearly leapt into his arms and kissed him. Bowser, though initially surprised by the sudden move, did not take long to kiss her back. It was one of those moments that felt like magic- or drugs. Either way, the two felt passion on their lips and explosions of excitement inside their chest. Like their dance before, it felt like an eternity; they were just there, in the middle of a crowd of people, yet away from anything else. When somebody cleared their throat, the two pulled away from each other. There, in front of them, they saw a smirking Daisy and a confused pair of Italian Brothers.

"So, this is a thing?" Daisy asked.

"Well, um…" Bowser hesitated.

"...Yes," Peach nodded, clinging onto Bowser's arm, " _This_ is a thing."

Daisy's smirk turned into a smile as she looked at Bowser. All her life, she had only known Bowser as a hideous monster, who lusted after Peach. So, to see him as a handsome prince who was clearly in love with Peach (and she was in love with him) was incredibly bizarre, to a point where it was hilarious in a good way. However, the brothers could not get over the fact that Bowser was not a Koopa, but a _Prince._

"You need to tell me everything," Daisy smiled up at Bowser.

"Yeah, me too," Luigi agreed, trying to comprehend the situation still.

Before Bowser could answer, he saw his servants running amongst themselves, finally free from their curse as well. Bowser smiled and looked at Daisy, "I will. But, please just give me a moment."

Bowser slipped by Daisy and joined his servants. When he got over to them, he was met with hugs from Red, Lemmy, Wendy and several other people. As they hugged, many different Koopas came flooding into the courtyard (probably those who were turned into inanimate objects, Peach thought). Among them were Bowser Jr and Ludwig Von Koopa. And, when Peach saw Bowser Jr and Ludwig, she smiled joyously.

* * *

Several months had passed since the breaking of the curse. Under his newly rejuvenated rule, Bowser had signed an agreement with Peach; the Koopa Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom were to unite as a dual-monarchy. And, because there was not much in the Badlands, Bowser would move into Peach's castle. Before he left the Koopa Kingdom, he named Red as the Lt. Governor of the Koopa Kingdom in his absence.

In a large room, in which there was a bed, white dresser with a mirror on the top of it and red rug, Bowser, after putting his hair into a ponytail, put on a blue tuxedo, similar to the one he had been wearing during the night of his dance with Peach. As he finally tied the bowtie, after minutes of struggling with it, the door opened. Bowser turned to face the door and saw Luigi enter the room, also wearing a tuxedo (though not as fancy as Bowser's). When Luigi entered the room, alongside Toad, Bowser nodded and semi-bowed to greet them.

"How can I help you two?" he asked.

Luigi looked at Toad, who nodded back at him. After breathing in and out once, Luigi said, "This is about Mario…"

"Great," Bowser smiled, "Is he coming to the-?"

"No! Dear God, why would he come?" Toad suddenly interrupted, "Seeing the Princess leap into your arms and you two make out broke him."

"That's a slight exaggeration of what happened," Bowser shook his head, "Look, that was _months ago_. Since then, I moved here with the Princess, and we got engaged. He's been invited to the parties we've thrown and the dinners, kart races, all those functions. If he doesn't want to move past this, then I can't make him."

Luigi nodded in agreement, "He won't leave the house, you know."

"I'm sorry Luigi, but I'm trying everything," Bowser sighed, "If Mario wants to act like this about it, then you can't do anything about it either. Does Peach know?"

Toad nodded, "Oh, she knows _too well_ …"

Bowser nodded and, after a few seconds of silence, he said, "Well, let's get going. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"After you, Your Majesty," Luigi said, allowing Bowser to exit first. Respectfully, Bowser shook Luigi's hand on his way out of the room.

As he walked down the hallway, he looked at the many paintings in the pink-colored hallway. There were several of random objects in the paintings, from marching bob-ombs to a castle in the sky, to two goombas yelling or something… These struck Bowser as bizarre- some were gorgeously created, no doubt, but others were just… Bizarre…

At the end of the hallway, he saw Peach waiting by a door covered with a curtain. He could hear noise coming from outside the door, from the masses assembled outside of the castle. Peach wore her regular dress, but also her crown. When she saw Bowser approaching her, she grinned happily and nodded at a nearby toad, who had a crown waiting on a pillow. The crown was much like Peach's, a simple golden crown with diamonds and rubies inside it, but was bigger to accommodate Bowser's head.

"My Princess, you look stunning," Bowser said, bowing. Without responding, Peach stuck out her hand, and Bowser took it in his, kissing it once. Suddenly, they both began laughing.

"We don't have to be formal when nobody's around," Peach suggested, trying to wear off the her laughter.

"I agree completely," Bowser nodded. He look the crown from the pillow after thanking the toad. When he placed it on his head, he felt it fit to his head and balanced just right. He grinned and turned to face the door with Peach at his side. When the doors opened, Bowser and Peach interlocked their fingers and stepped out onto the balcony. They were out on the balcony, they saw the masses of thousands of toads and toadettes. Unlike before, when they were bloodthirsty and longing for violence, they cheered peacefully at their two monarchs, who began waving at the crowd. The massive crowd cheered very loudly at the sight of their two monarchs, who were clearly incredibly happy to be with each other.

As Bowser put his hand down, Peach, who still stood next to him, leaned into his ear and whispered, "Can you promise me something?"

"Sure," Bowser leaned closer to Peach in response, "What is it?"

"Can you start wearing a choker? You know, one of those Gothic ones with spikes on it that you used to wear?"

Bowser laughed politely, "I'm afraid that's the one thing I can't promise."

"Come on! You looked cute with it before."

" _Cute_ isn't exactly how I'd describe the look, Peach."

Peach looked away, at the crowd of cheering subjects for a second. She then turned back to her prince, "Okay, if that's the _one thing_ you can't do for me, then perhaps you can do something else… Can you start wearing green? Oh, like a green coat with spikes on it? It'll go with the crown, trust me."

"Is there any way I can get you stop talking?" Bowser responded in a light, kidding tone.

"There is a way," Peach said, suggestively. She stepped closer to Bowser and leaned in. As the couple locked lips again, the crowd of toads and toadettes exploded in absolute joy; the chemistry and genuine love between the two monarchs gave them hope for a peaceful and just rule for the years to come.


End file.
